


Lost in Translation.

by KizunaBlade



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Angst for days, Assumptions: the movie., Eventual romance., F/M, First Fanfiction, Hurt/Comfort, Lots of fluff with eventual plot, Mild papyton, Mute Reader, Named Reader, Racism, Shipper papaya, Sorta an OC but not really, Swearing, Violence, how do I even tag this, lots of swearing, misunderstandings everywhere, potential kidnapping, reader identifies as female, super slow burn, the slowest of burns
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-22
Updated: 2016-12-08
Packaged: 2018-06-10 00:19:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 9
Words: 32,513
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6930349
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KizunaBlade/pseuds/KizunaBlade
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>You will never forget the day the Barrier shattered and monsters flooded the surface, the day that magic became real- and the day that you lost your voice. </p><p>Everything seemed to fall apart all at once, MONSTERS were real, magic was real!  However you couldn't say a word about it to them nor to anybody else. </p><p>Everybody just assumed you stopped talking of your own choice, that's all anything ever is anymore- a series of assumptions and misunderstandings, as all your true intentions get lost in translation.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Sounds of silence.

**Author's Note:**

> OK so...I have never written a fanfiction before in my life...so...please do be gentle with me on this *hides in bomb shelter* I have a feeling this is gonna be a long ride.

  
  
_"My smile is my shield and my words my weapon. Regardless of how chipped my shield becomes my blade will remain ever sharp, protecting me long after my smile and shield have fallen."_  
  
  
\--------------------------------------------------------  
  
  
**CRASH!!!**  
  
  
The loud noise of the barrier shattering will never leave your mind, awake or otherwise. The loud noise yet again jolts you from your sleep, breathing heavily and sweat pouring down your face. _"god dammit..."_ You mouth out of habit, the words forming in your mind in imagined audio as you glanced at the clock. **5:46 am.** Letting out an airy inaudible sigh you allow yourself to fall onto your back, staring at the ceiling in silent contempt for everything in this world. Well, not everything- you paused your thoughts as you turned onto your side to look at your messy floor.   
  
  
Countless sketches and drawing tools littered the floor of your room, each doodle and sketch of varying quality and styles. Ever since you lost your ability to speak you had become a recluse, just sitting in your room all day and drawing. You never focused on any one thing in particular, but you found yourself drawing the various monsters you had seen over the past few weeks more often then anything else.   
  
Nobody understood why you suddenly could not speak, in fact some people thought you were faking it as an excuse to not talk to them- they couldn't have been more wrong. You let out yet another sigh as you sat up, running your fingers through your medium length hair in irritation. You had lost so many friends over this, so many people had made so many assumptions, started so many fights- accused you of so much. None of the people you trusted were who you thought they were in the end.  
  
  
You weren't left with much time to mourn the loss of your voice before everything else fell to pieces. So now here you were, alone in a graveyard of sketches. Friendless, devoid of family and love- devoid of caring for almost everything. Not that you were an uncaring husk, you cared immensely about the oddest of things - Whether a random monster kid had managed to cross the street. If an old lady had received help carrying her heavy bags to her car. If anybody would stand up for a monster being verbally abused.  You cared about all these things and more, all these situations you could barely help with without a strange accusing gaze from somebody. Everyone always assumed you had an ulterior motive, or that you were creepy for never speaking. You suppose this was your own fault for never learning ASL. Not like you hadn't tried, you just couldn't put your all into it.  
  
  
Letting out one last sigh of resignation you swung your legs over the side of the bed and stood up, shuffling sluggishly across your messy room to your closet. You had long since accepted waking up at all hours of the night, the shattering noise of the barrier always being your impromptu alarm. You figure that your mind had associated that noise with the loss of everything you held dear, and thus tormented you with it every night. You shifted threw your not very impressive clothing collection as you pulled out a dark blue t-shirt and some baggy sweat pants. Nodding silently at your choice you lazily threw the shirt over your head and pulled on the pants before moving towards the exit of your lonely apartment. It's almost 6 in the damn morning, who cares about hair brushes? Or brushes of any kind really.  
  
  
With another airy sigh you slid on your favorite boots and jacket, both black and with white fur lining the tops and hood respectively. You couldn't help but yawn as you stretched, preparing for a very early morning stroll as you grabbed your last item- a black beany. Shoving some of your longer hair into it you nodded in half satisfaction at your own reflection in the entrance way mirror before opening the door and stepping out. You knew that you looked like a boy, in all of your baggy unladylike clothing coupled with the fact you were flat as a damn board. After awhile you found yourself not caring enough to put the effort into correcting people who mistook your gender, they weren't worth hunting for pens and paper just to correct a silly mistake for- and you weren't about to carry those items with you at all times anyway.  
  
  
_"Another cold as fuck morning...."_ You mouthed to yourself yet again out of habit. Voice or no voice, you fully intended on complaining every chance you had as you shoved your hands into the pockets of your jacket, beginning your walk down the path towards the nearby park. Whenever you couldn't sleep you always found yourself going there- maybe cause it was actually peaceful. You couldn't help but glance up at the sky as you walked, there was snow falling today. The whole world was just as silent as your room in this moment, the only noise being the crunching of your footprints against fresh snow and the faint sound of wind. You couldn't help but enjoy the peace, even if it WAS more of the same.  
  
  
\------  
  
"I SHOULDN'T HAVE TO PAY YOU _SHIT_! You're nothing but a fucking beast! Give me by God damned hot dog ya freak!" The silence was completely and utterly destroyed by the sound of an incredibly angry and annoying sounding adult male, causing you to look away from the tree's you had been staring at. Your gaze fell upon what looked to be some kind of hot tog stand as well as two individuals- one obviously human and the other...was that a fucking skeleton!?  Your jaw fell open slightly as you stared at the skeleton monster, your mind zeroing in on countless questions, starting with why a skeleton would need a jacket with no skin. You shook your head to dismiss the thoughts as you really took in what was happening, the man was screaming and yelling at that poor skeleton guy? Your pretty sure it's a guy based on its clothes- getting off track again. The man seems to be asking for free food on the account of the skeleton being a "creature" and not a person. Oh this simply would not do.  
  
  
With an angry intake of breath you began to march your way over to the stall, but as you got closer you could not help but notice the expression on the skeletons face in more detail. Despite the situation, he seemed to be smiling? However everything about that smile sent shivers down your spine, you knew for sure it wasn't a happy one. Upon even closer inspection you could see his eyes were nothing but bottomless pits of darkness, you weren't sure if they always looked that way or not, but it disturbed you and made your fight or flight instincts act up. Biting back the fear that began to crawl up your spine you sped up your walk, noticing that the skeleton had turned his head in your direction, dim specs of light appearing inside his sockets like irises. You could see the silent question in his gaze as you got closer, but you were on a fucking mission.   
  
  
"I SAID GIVE ME THE FUCKING HOT DOG! You have no use for my money ya filthy fuckin-" The man was interrupted by you tapping almost TOO hard on his shoulder, heck you almost punched it. The man turned to you with an expression of pure fury, causing you almost to take an involuntary step back, but you held your ground.   
  
_"Leave the poor guy alone you asshole!"_ Your lips formed the words with confidence, as if you could actually speak. When the world was met with silence your once determined and angry expression changed to one of self annoyance and slight disbelief. You had actually forgotten you couldn't fucking speak!   
  
"EH!? What was that? If you fuckin whisper I can't hear you...just beat it kid." The man said dismissively as he turned to address the skeleton once more. Your whole world seemed to stutter as your mind went blank, you moved without even thinking. The next thing you knew the man was ass first in the snow, holding his reddening cheek with a furious expression.   
  
You let out a silent gasp as you glanced at your clenched fist- you had actually fucking punched somebody.   
  
"YOU LITTLE FUCKER!" The man roared in anger as he stood up and began to aim his own punch in retaliation. You were never one for fighting, you hated it actually, so seeing this punch aimed at you...all you could do was close your eyes and wait for the pain- but it never came.  
  
"heh...i wouldn't do that if I were you, **pal**. let me be  _frank_ with you...buddy.....if you keep acting this way... **Y O U 'R E   G O I N G  T O  H A V E  A  B A D  T I M E** "  
  
  
A deep baritone voice had spoken out, causing you to open your eyes slowly. It was the skeleton, he had his hand outstretched to grab the mans arm in seemingly a death grip. As he spoke his words lowered into an almost monstrous growl, causing your entire body to shiver. The man seemed just as spooked as you if not more so, in fact it had looked like he was lucky he was wearing brown pants.   
  
"C-....c- calm down now man! I...I didn't mean to cause any problems! HERE! J...JUST TAKE IT!" The man stuttered out as he reached into his pocket with his free hand, taking out and then throwing what seemed to be several dollar bills at the skeleton. The skeleton seemed pleased by this response and let him go, causing the man to almost sprint out of the park like a scared rabbit. You couldn't take your eyes off of the skeleton- were you scared? No, that wasn't why. You didn't KNOW why.  
  
He seemed to notice you staring as he took in a deep breath- what- as he began to take steps towards you.  He had that same confused expression as when you were initially walking up to the stand, like he didn't know quite what to think about you. You didn't blame him one bit.   
  
"heya, kid....thanks for trying to stop that guy. was pretty _cool_ of you." He seemed to stretch out the word cool in an unnatural way, his eye lights darting to a nearby pile of snow. Come to think of it, you could swear he had done the same thing with the word "frank" when threatening that guy...- wait a second!    
  
_"Are you using puns!?"_ Your mouth moved before you could put any thought into it, your expression a mix of shocked and delighted. You cringed as you shut your mouth, you had done it again, God dammit.  
  
  
The skeleton tilted his head at you, his seemingly permanent grin shrinking as his eye sockets narrowed at you- ok so many questions. "it's rude to ignore somebody, kid" He said with an increasingly irritated expression, oh god not this again. Your eyes widened as you began to shake your head furiously. You didn't want him to think you were being silent on purpose! Your eyes darted around the location nervously as you tried to locate something to write with as the skeletons expression grew darker without your noticing. "what...did you want a turn at the big bad monster?" His threatening tone was not lost on you as you froze, your gaze returning to him as a helpless look overtook your features. You flailed your hands out in front of you, shaking your head back and forth in a firm NO yet again as you began to gesture to your throat. The skeletons expression seemed to relax a little at your erratic movements, as if he was thinking deeply about what to make of you.  
  
  
"kid, sorry if i'm readin' the signs wrong but...can you not talk?" He finally hit the nail on the head as your face almost split in half with a smile as you nodded YES as fast as you could, almost making yourself dizzy. The skeletons expression fully relaxed as he let out a deep chuckle, he seemed to be relieved.  "sorry to  _voice_ my concerns bud, but i honestly thought you had a  _bone_ to pick with me" There it was again! You knew for sure these were puns now as your whole body began to shake in muted laughter. He seemed pleased at your response as he held out a bony hand for you to shake, which you gladly took with a smile. "names sans, sans the skeleton" He said with a wink, which filled you with your earlier suppressed questions as you went to say your name, a familiar look of self annoyance appearing on your face when no sound exited.  A look of realization struck Sans' face as he let go of your hand and began to dig for something in his pockets. "ah that's right, hang on-"  He muttered as he searched, only to present you with a pen and extremely crumpled paper.  
  
  
Your body shook slightly in a quiet giggle as you took the paper and pen and began to scribble your name and other choice words onto it. With a satisfied expression you handed your paper back as you watched his eye lights shift to read what you had wrote. _"Hi Sans! It is nice to meet you! My name is Max, Max the human! You can call me Maxxy if you want"_ He read the words silently to himself as an amused expression seemed to dance over his face.   
  
"well ...max, was _ice_ to meet you too." He said with what you could only consider as a shit eating grin at this point, causing you to narrow your eyes playfully. Oh how you wished you could banter back with this smug little shit right now. He seemed amused at your expression as another chuckle escaped him, his grin growing only slightly. God you loved this dudes laugh, achieving it had become a new private goal for you. In all of the excitement you had completely forgotten to take in Sans' features now that he was so close to you. He actually had a good 4 inches on you, causing you to silently curse your short height. W...Were those house slippers!? You stared at his feet in a mixture of curiosity and a face that just screamed "WHY".  
  
  
If Sans noticed your analyzing he chose to say nothing as he shifted in place, handing you back the paper in case you wanted to say anything else to him. _-Ah dammit...I just met this guy but...fucking hell just do it..-_ You thought to yourself as you made a unspoken decision, gripping the pen and beginning to write yet again with a determined expression.  As you went to hand the paper back you hesitated, a small blush creeping onto your cheeks. Was this weird? Was he gonna think you were creepy or something? Before you could overthink it any further Sans had taken the paper from your hand, a brow bone arched up slightly in amusement as he shifted his gaze from you and to the paper.   
  
_"I am kind of in a_ **flurry** , s _o I have to get going. But if you don't mind talking to me again, **Sans** the voice, can I have your number maybe?_ " Was written out in shaky lettering, you had tried to bold out the words that were puns in a honestly pitiful attempt to amuse your new skeletal friend. His eye sockets seemed to widen as he went to re-read what you had given him, his wide grin somehow growing even more as he let out a loud and very wonderful laugh.  
  
  
You grinned in victory as you watched Sans almost fully double over in laughter as he tried his best to compose himself long enough to fish his phone from one of his jacket pockets.  
  
"hehehe i can already tell we're gonna get along fine, kid." He said with a relaxed and seemingly very pleased tone that cause your cheeks to redden even more. God dammit if you kept this up he was gonna think you were one weird and creepy ass human. Yet again he seemed to make no comment on your reddening face as you took out your own phone and handed it to him, exchanging it with his wordlessly.  As you went to input your number into Sans' phone you could not help but notice another skeleton as his lock screen, this one was way taller and thinner and was wearing a red scarf. You couldn't help but smile at the image, he seemed like a really cool guy based on the picture and you decided you would ask Sans about him later as you continued on your mission to etch numbers into this strangers phone.  Your face scrunched up as you realized how bizarre this whole thing was. You literally JUST met him and you already asked for his number! If he had any problems with it he was doing a great job of hiding it, then again you HAD heard that monsters were insanely easy to befriend.  
  
  
  
With your mind still bouncing from subject A to subject Z and everything in between you handed his phone back to him, carefully accepting your own back. You nodded and mouthed a grateful "thanks" out to him, causing him to nod in return.  " _snow_ problem, kid. i have to get back to work now myself, hope to see ya around" He said with a lazy wave before trudging back to his stand. OH LORD did you want to yell a pun back at him, sweet Christ did you want to tell him you weren't a kid- but that would have to wait...about five minutes. You waved with a bright grin on your face as you turned around and began to walk back towards your building, taking out your phone and heading straight to your new contact. "Snas" ...You could not help but let out a snort at the fact he had not even bothered to spell his own name right as you went to correct it. With a smile still on your face you typed out your magnum opus-  
  
  
**XXX-XXX-XXXX 6:37 am**  
**Your jokes are pretty SNASY Sans, but I ain't a kid. I am 24 thank you very much.**  
  
  
Fuckin nailed it.  
  
  
  
**Sans 6:38 am**  
**skeleTONE it down there, you might hurt yourself,** **kid.**  
  
  
Did he just....and he still....oh damn you would need to buy a few dozen pads of paper today.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaand there is chapter one...again I am new to this so I honestly am not 100% sure of where this is going. I have a basic outline but that's about it. If you happen to enjoy this first chapter feel free to drop by some prompts or things you would like to see happen at one point! Suggestions will def help me piece together this madness!


	2. Use your words.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What was this? You just went to buy fucking paper and realized you are single-handedly destroying the worlds tree population. Today was an interesting day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woooo! Chapter 2! I was originally gonna wait to start on this, but the positive response from you guys filled me with DETERMINATION! I really hope I can continue to please you wonderful people!

_"My blade is broken....I am left without an offense and without a defense. The vulnerability I feel is staggering, I call for help....but nobody came."_  
  
  
\-----------------  
  
You just couldn't keep the giddy smile off your face! You were practically skipping the rest of the way home like a damn school girl. You couldn't help but steal glances at your own phone every now and then, you had done it! You had actually made a friend! Well, you thought you had. Your pace slowed a little as self doubt began to crawl up and wrap its claws around your bubble of happiness - What if he thought you were weird? What if he was just humoring you? You shook your head with a silent growl to dismiss these thoughts as a look of determination overtook your features. You were gonna be friends with that ridiculous skeleton if it was the last thing you did on this earth! In fact...  
  
  
Your smile grew once more as a master plan began to rear its head in your mind, you would visit him at work tomorrow and bring an offering of ultimate friendship! You fist pumped and let out a huge breath of air that would have normally been a " _YEEEAAAH!"_ before coming to a screeching halt, you had no fucking idea what his schedule was like. Mortified at your own stupidity you once again took out your phone, debating if you should just "casually" ask what his schedule was like. Taking in a deep breath you pursed your lips, holding the oxygen captive as your fingers danced across the digital keyboard.  
  
  
**XXX-XXX-XXXX 6:57 am**  
**Hey so...how often do you work at the hot dog stand?**  
  
  
You smashed send before you could really think about it, instantly realizing that you weren't nearly specific enough. SHIT! He was probably gonna respond with the most unhelpful thing ever! In your panic you let out your held air and began to type as fast as you could when-  
  
**Sans 6:58 am**  
**often**  
  
Christ. You had known his response would be something like that, if you had face palmed any harder you were certain you would have knocked yourself out. Letting out a breathy sigh you finished typing up your next text, still looking annoyed at yourself.  
  
**XXX-XXX-XXXX 7:00 am**  
**What times do you usually work?**  
  
  
Good going nerdlord, you had the subtlety of a fuckin dinosaur in a lab coat. You couldn't help but crouch down where you stood, hiding your face in your hands as a long stream of air escaped your lips in what should have been a groan of utter frustration. You stayed like that for what felt like forever, your phone's dorky chime never once going off. You did it, you managed to creep him out in record time- good going.   
  
You let out another airy sigh as you stood up and zombie walked back to your apartment. reaching out to unlock the slightly rusty silver doorknob you stepped inside with a long gate, not wanting to see what your face probably looked like right now in the entryway mirror. Your previous plans of going back out to purchase paper in which to assault Sans with dying with every step towards your bed. You were just about to face plant into your bed's sweet embrace of solitude when a familiar chime rang out, causing you to stand up rim rod straight and scramble for your phone.  
  
  
**Sans 7:12 am**  
**9 ta 5 on weekdays. pm that is. 5 to noon on weekends.**  
  
You let out a "sigh" of relief that he had responded to you without asking why you were being so nosy. You could not help the probably ridiculous grin that made its home on your face when you re-read the times he had sent you. You happened to get off work a whole hour before him tomorrow! This would definitely work! MASTER PLAN "BRING SANS OFFERINGS OF NOT CREEPY FRIENDSHIP" IS G-  
  
**Chime~**  
  
Your thoughts were interrupted by your phone going off yet again, causing you to pause a moment. Was he gonna call you out after all? Swallowing your nerves both figuratively and literally you brought up your phone once more.  
  
**Sans 7:14 am**  
**i think it's _time_ you told me your secret.**  
  
Secret? What was he talking about? Your mind began to whirl a million miles a minute, you were trying to grasp just what kind of secret he meant? Did he notice that you were blushing after all? Did he notice all the silent questions written on your face? Did he know you were a total dork for all things skeleton? Before you could ask any more questions mentally the phone went off one more time.  
  
  
**Sans 7:15 am**  
**you have a hot dog addiction don't you?**  
  
WHAT!? You almost dropped your phone in shock as your face went from worried to amused disbelief, your whole body shaking in unheard laughter. This guy was such a dork! You LOVED IT! Still shaking from your barely held in hysterics you shakily typed a response.  
  
**XXX-XXX-XXXX 7:16 am**  
**What can I say? I love hot animnals.**  
  
You pressed send before you could catch your typo, inwardly cringing in response. It was just a text, almost nobody cares about grammar in texts right? Right. You assured yourself of this fact of life as you pocketed your phone temporarily, focusing on the task at hand- the acquisition of writing materials for the sole purpose of issuing verbal warfare.    
  
Dubbing your sweat pants unfit for a trip into actual society you walked back to your closet, pulling down your pants and kicking them into the dark void that is your closet corners as you took out a pair of jeans to replace them. After shimmying into your new pants you took long and large steps towards your nightstand, opening the drawer and taking out your wallet and a pen and paper, just in case you needed to communicate with somebody- god forbid.    
  
Your phone had gone off awhile ago, but you were to focused on making sure you didn't run out into the world defenseless like last time. The pen is mightier than the sword and all that jazz. Making sure you had everything you finally made your way back towards the door of your apartment, almost tripping on your raggedy old beanbag chair on the way. " _shit!"_ you mouthed as you stumbled, your phone falling from your front pocket and onto the ground.  
  
Oh, right. Responding was a thing that normal people do. Mentally yelling at yourself for ignoring your new "friend" for several minutes you picked up your phone to check your messages, using your free hand to unlock the front door and stepping out.  
  
  
**Sans 7:20 am**  
**what's an animnal? you know something i don't, kid?**  
  
That smartass. With newfound determination you huffed and tapped out a response, speeding up your walk towards town.  
  
  
**XXX-XXX-XXXX 7:31 am**  
**Not a kid. Going to the store now.**  
  
Straight and to the point, you nodded to yourself in satisfaction- surely he would understand not to bombard you with any more texts right? Right. Placing your well used and rather outdated cellphone back into your pockets you continued to walk down the street, finally reaching some of the smaller shops that occupied the outskirts of town. Spying your favorite arts and crafts store you couldn't help but smile softly as you sped up your walk, getting more excited about your plan.  
  
\-----------  
  
**ding ding**  
  
The door bell let out a small chime as you entered the shop, causing the man at the front register to look up and nod a greeting at you. You nodded back, taking note that you had never seen him here before- must be a new worker. Re-focusing on the task at hand you made a beeline straight for the aisle with all the notebooks and other paper product of the fabulous kind.   
  
As you began to pick up several notebooks you couldn't help but let your mind wander to a scene of you and Sans, surrounded by a wasteland of used and crumpled papers. The image escalated till the two of you were buried under the mountains of notes, causing you to take note- heh- of how you might single handedly murder every tree in the world this way- and subsequently reduce the oxygen of the planet. That would be a nightmare, there had to be a better, non planet harming, way. It was then that your gaze was moved to a roughly large notebook sized whiteboard, paired with several markers and the eraser. PERFECT! Now you could communicate with Sans without committing mass genocide of nature! Grabbing the white board and setting down all your previously acquired notebooks you began top walk out of the aisle when a flash of blue caught your attention.  
  
  
Turning your head towards the color you noticed a box of crayons and markers, all a mix of blues, silvers and blacks- appropriately called "cool colors". You grinned at the slight pun on the box as you reached to pick it up to, you had been needing more colored drawing tools for awhile- All your art had been rather muted in color. You cringed at the unintentional self pun as you tucked the item under your arm with the rest, continuing towards the exit.  Upon reaching the register you placed your two items down and began to fish out your wallet, preparing to pay for your items.  
  
The man at the register looked at you in boredom, taking your items and slowly scanning them in. "Cold day huh?" He started a conversation casually, causing your whole body to flinch. You weren't used to having conversations any more, they always made you feel...vulnerable. Pushing the paranoia to the back of your mind you put on your most convincing smile and nodded at his question, waiting for him to give you your total. His eyes narrowed at you, causing you to start to shift uncomfortably in place, your eyes darting to the side to look at a suddenly very interesting candy assortment.  
  
  
  
"You don't talk much do you?" He said in a tone that was starting to ooze with an emotion you were all to used to hearing, causing your eyes to widen and your breathing to quicken. Shaking your head in response you shakily moved your hands to your pockets, trying to find the pen and paper you had brought with you. Where was it? Did it fall out? oh god w-   
  
"You sure are a rude one aren't you? I am just trying to make conversation..use your words." His annoyed tone had increased, and at this point you were certain your whole body was shaking from the anxiety. You couldn't see your face, but you were sure you probably looked like you were about to get shivved as you looked back up at the man, shaking your head once more and gesturing to your throat helplessly.  
  
The man seemed confused at first before realization crosses his face, a look of horror replacing his previous one of annoyance. "Oh shit...you can't speak can you? And here I was just...god i'm so sorry man" You no longer had the heart to correct him about your gender as you looked at your items, raising a shaky hand to place your wallet onto the counter, a silent plea for your totals. "Oh right! Crap..uh...your total is $12.99." He said in a nervous voice, he must have thought you were gonna report him to the manager or something.  
  
You didn't have the motivation nor the determination to do so anyway. Nodding almost robotically you took out a 20$ bill and placed it on the counter, shaking your head at the man when he went to get your change.  You just wanted to go home, you didn't care about change.  He looked like he wanted to say something else, but you had already taken your items and speed walked out of the store.  You couldn't hold it back anymore as tears began to form in your eyes and your body was wracked with silent sobs. Why? Why does _everybody_ assume your some rude jerk? Why does everybody have to talk to you in that annoyed tone!? It's not YOUR FAULT that you can't speak....it's not...your fault...  
  
\-------  
  
You had become a shivering mess at this point, looking like a fragile pillar that would collapse at any second. A few passer buys looked at you in either mild concern or curiosity before whispering amongst themselves. This is why people suck. This is why you don't have friends anymore. Why do you even try? What's the point? You had begun to spiral down, falling faster and faster into the sadly familiar clutches of your depression, when a chime you knew all to well pierced the silence. Your phone. Stopping your death march you sat down on a nearby bench and set your newly purchased supplies down to check your phone. What lit up on your screen almost made you cry harder.  
  
**Sans 7:42 am**  
**got something in _store_** **kid?**  
  
**Sans 7:48 am**  
**hey. you ok kid?**  
  
**Sans 7:50 am**  
**throw me a bone here pal.**  
  
**One missed call.**  
  
  
You couldn't stop the tears now, it was like somebody opened the damn flood gates at Niagara falls. He was trying to reach you this whole time, and you were too depressed and stressed out to even hear your phone go off. He was actually worried about you. Why? Without even thinking your fingers moved on their own, sending back a response you may as well have had assigned to a macro.  
  
**XXX-XXX-XXXX 7:53 am**  
**I'm fine.**  
  
You were not fine, you were the furthest from fine. You had just cut him off, the same way you cut off everybody. He was supposed to be your friend right? Why are you like this...You received a text.  
  
**Sans 7:54 am**  
**knock knock**  
  
Was...was he serious right now? Taking in a deep shaky breath you began to type back the expected response.  
  
  
**XXX-XXX-XXXX 7:55 am**  
**Who's there?**  
  
**Sans 7:55 am**  
**olive**  
  
A small smile began to form on your drenched face, you think you knew where this was going. You would gladly fall into this trap right now.  
  
**XXX-XXX-XXXX 7:56 am**  
**Olive who?**  
  
**Sans 7:56 am**  
**olive you too pal.**  
  
You let out several clipped puffs of air in silent laughs mixed with equally silent sobs. You had heard this one before, but for some reason receiving it from Sans made you feel better.  
  
  
**XXX-XXX-XXXX 7:57 am**  
**That was so bad Sans...**  
  
**Sans 7:58 am**  
**i bet your smilin tho. heh, will you remember me in 5 seconds?**  
  
This one was new you thought as you raised an eyebrow at the screen, a smirk curling your lips as you typed a response.  
  
**XXX-XXX-XXXX 7:59 am**  
**Of course I would.**  
  
**Sans 7:59 am**  
**knock knock**  
  
His response was almost instant, causing you to jump slightly, where was he going with this? Why did he ask that question if he was just gonna go back into knock knock jokes.  
  
**XXX-XXX-XXXX 8:00 am**  
**Who's there?**  
  
**Sans 8:00 am**  
**hey, you said you wouldn't forget me!**  
  
Your eyes widened in shock as you read his response, you could NOT believe you had fallen for that! Your small smirk had long since evolved into a full smile as your body shook with laughter instead of sobs. How long had it been since you had laughed this much? You honestly couldn't remember.  
  
**XXX-XXX-XXXX 8:01 am**  
**Haha that was great! Thank you Sans, I really needed a good laugh.**  
  
  
**Sans 8:02 am**  
**any time bud. If you ever wanna talk, i'm all ears. well, if i had em.**  
  
You laughed again, you probably looked like one of those dogs that wheezed so much you thought they would keel over dead any moment- but you didn't care. For right now, in this moment, everything felt ok. For just right now...you felt like the silence had lifted just a bit.  
  
You couldn't help but look forward to a Monday for the first time in your life, tomorrow was going to be a good day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact, this was originally gonna be a very small scene instead of an entire chapter...but apparently i suck XP. Another fun fact: I had accidentally posted this when it was only half done for about a minute...whoops.
> 
> Also, if you are wondering what happened to Max's pen and pad..let's just say her phone was not the only thing to tumble from her pockets due to the evil bean bag chair of doom.


	3. This is my indoors voice.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ironically, you found yourself speechless as you tried to wrap your head around the realization that had just hit you like a truck. Was this actually a thing that was happening? Was your life a comedy now? You loved it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright I am gonna be honest here XP I cannot keep up a daily chapter schedule for multiple reasons. 
> 
> One: I don't have the story planned far enough to do that without butchering it.  
> Two: I have tons of crap in real life that occupies my time.  
> Three: I really wanna maintain the quality I have had thus far, i don't wanna rush anything.
> 
> I released three chapters this week simply because this was "launch week". My official schedule will prob be more like two chapters a week, and sometimes more if i have a ton of free time. I hope you guys understand and won't mind the wait too much ;w;
> 
> BONUS surprise for everybody at the end chapter notes! I highly suggest you read at least the first section of the chapter before looking!

_"There are so many people around me, and yet not one of them will look at me. I scream and I scream, but my voice never reaches them. My shield is broken. I cannot smile anymore."_  
  
  
\---------  
  
You eventually went home after sending a few more bad jokes back and forth with Sans, he really had saved your ass from a major panic attack. You knew for sure now you had to make whatever offering you brought him tomorrow the most AMAZING THING EVER.  Sighing to yourself you almost violently plopped down onto your greatest enemy with all your weight- the bean bag chair. You had no idea what to get him! How could you forget such an important detail! - _Really racking up those intelligence points there maxxy..-_ You thought to yourself with a scowl on your face. You figured you could always "subtly" ask him what kind of stuff he likes, but that would be going to far- THIS IS STILL THE SAME DAY YOU MET HIM! God you really needed to slow down. More happened in just the last few hours then the last few weeks of your life you realized. You were exhausted and it was only 9 in the damn morning. It was then you made a decision, you would be lazy today!  
  
Nodding to yourself in satisfaction you got up to begin preparing your dwelling for massive lazing. You located all your junk food- Doritos, Mountain dew of several kinds and popcorn to name a few-. You had picked up your remote and had been sifting threw netflix to locate some lazy day eye candy whilst you located the rest of your supplies- you were going on this "adventure" fully prepared! You were gonna watch the shit out of all these movies!  
  
  
\----  
  
You ended up not paying much attention to your movies, you had gotten sidetracked by the new crayons and pens you had purchased earlier, feeling an intense urge to draw. You couldn't help but let your mind wander to how Sans had looked when he had read your puns to himself, how utterly delighted he was- it was by far one of your favorite moments in recent memory.   
  
So, you found yourself sketching your friend of only several hours, vowing to yourself that he would NEVER find out. He was so expressive for a skeleton, so much so that you had almost forgotten that that's what he was when you were talking with him face to face. His smile, which you had thought was frozen in a single position, had changed several times and had even WIDENED when he had read your jokes. His eye sockets, which had been so dark and void of emotion when you first saw him had gained SO MUCH life as you two conversed. His eye sockets had even partially closed to match his delighted expression, his eye lights growing ever so slightly- it was cute- Your eyes widened as you shook your head in a frenzy, pausing your sketching. YOU JUST MET THIS GUY! Don't start crushing on him already!   
  
_\- God...I really am kind of a freak aren't i?-_ You thought to yourself with a small airy chuckle escaping.  
  
It's amazing how much you notice about somebody when you go to draw them behind their backs. You had never noticed until now that despite being a skeleton, Sans was very filled out- almost...pudgy? How could a skeleton have PUDGE!? Questions started to fly in your mind like a crazed bee swarm yet again. Did he wear multiple layers of clothing to get that look? Did he have an invisible belly made of magic? Does that mean he can eat? How does he eat if his mouth never opens? Can he open his mouth? You shook your head again, you were getting off track- again. With a look of determination you huffed out a breath of air and began to add finishing touches to your drawing, coloring his jacket with several shades of blue crayons.  
  
Finally being finished with your totally not creepy sketch of your friend of a few hours you could not help but smile. You had really captured that moment on paper, this was probably the best thing you had drawn in YEARS even. You were so proud of yourself you couldn't help but stand from your position on the floor, picking up the meaningful drawing with you and walking over to the nearby dresser. Once there you opened the top drawer, taking out an empty photo frame. With a happy "sigh" you placed your captured memory into the frame, setting it gently on top of the dresser.  
  
This was the first time you had framed one of your drawings- you realized. This discovery caused you to glance around at your paper covered floors, a feeling you couldn't quite understand bubbling up inside of you. Deciding not to overthink it you turned in place, walking back to your bean bag "throne" to continue your marathon. Not even you noticed how warm your face felt.  
  
  
  
\------  
  
_"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON!?_  
  
"I don't know! She has been like this for hours! I can't wake her up!"  
  
"Why didn't you call the police you moron!?"  
  
  
_Yelling, crashes, panic. Blackness, orange light...pain? Blood?_  
  
  
**CRASH!!!**  
  
\------  
  
You jolted awake with a gasp, the usual crashing sound the barrier had made waking you up yet again from whatever nightmare you were having. Swallowing thickly you glanced at the clock- **8:20 am.** HOLY SHIT! You almost flew out of bed in panic, you had to be at work by NINE! How could you have slept in so much!? Usually that blasted noise would wake you hours ahead of time!.   
  
_-This is what I get for using a ptsd flashback as an official alarm...-_ You thought bitterly as you speed walked around your apartment, struggling to get everything in order. You brushed your hair with one hand and your teeth with the other, causing you to wince every now and then when the brush would hit a rat in your hair. Spitting into the sink and tossing both brushes onto the bathroom counter you almost sprinted out and to your closet, grabbing the first things you came into contact with- a dark red t-shirt and black jeans- and threw them on. You silently thanked God yet again for the fact your job had no type of dress code or uniform requirements as you ran towards the door to put your shoes and favorite jacket on.   
  
You were JUST about to fly out of the apartment when you came to a screeching halt, you had almost forgotten something SUPER important! You turned around and sprinted to your nightstand, yanking the drawer open with so much speed and force you almost yanked it entirely off its track. Digging threw the drawer you took out the essentials of life you had almost forgotten, your phone, your wallet and of course your new white board.  
  
  
You would look awkward just carrying it around everywhere wouldn't you? Self consciousness starting to take over you ran back to your closet and grabbed your old black backpack from one of the dark corners, shoving your white board and writing tools into it before leaping towards the door yet again.  This time you had everything! You ran outside as fast as you could, making a mad dash to the rickety old garages where your truck would be. You could not help but glance at your phone- **8:33 am.** You had less then a half hour to get all the way across town. Hopefully the cops were busy at Dunken Donuts at this time of day- cause you were gonna speed.   
  
Unlocking and pushing the garage door open you wasted no time yanking the door to your old pick up truck open, throwing your bag into the passenger seat and then plopping your ass down. You fumbled slightly with your keys as you were still in a mild state of panic, finally getting them into the ignition you turned them- letting out a sigh of relief at the sound of the old engine revving up. Taking in a calming breath you backed out of the garage almost to quickly, bounding out from your drivers seat to close the garage door with a SLAM before leaping back in and peeling off. You are rather certain you left tire tracks.  
  
  
  
\-------  
  
YOU HAD MADE IT! You couldn't help but grin to yourself as you pulled into the parking lot of the DVD rental store, glancing at your phone again. **8:58 am.** That was TOO close, waaaaay too close. You took a moment to collect yourself, not wanting to look like an asylum escapee upon entering the building. You reached over and grabbed your pack by one of its straps and got out of your car, slamming the door hard enough to make you wince just a bit before making your way into the store. Your manager of course was already there, staring at the computer screen behind the front counter. From here you were fairly certain she was browsing anime websites again, your manager was...VERY in to anime.  As the door shut behind you you made your way behind the counter, raising your hand to poke her in the shoulder. You knew this would probably scare her, but it's not like you could SAY anything. Preparing yourself for the worst you gave her shoulder a light tap, sending her flying several feet in the air and letting out a loud yelp.   
  
"AHHH! WHAT!? WHO WHERE!?" She screeched as she spun around to look at you, her glasses almost flying off her face. Her panicked expression eased greatly upon seeing your apologetic face, her own changing to one of slight annoyance.  
  
"Oh my God Max, how many times have I told you NOT to sneak up on me like that...ugh you almost made me have a heart attack!" She said with what was supposed to be an annoyed tone, but her smile gave away her true feelings. You smiled apologetically as you moved your pack in front of you, unzipping it with your free hand and taking out your white board and a marker. You began to scribble down on it before turning it around to face her, causing her to move her gaze from your face to the board.   
  
_"Sorry Amber, my ninja training has paid off too well. My stealth is unparalleled."_ Her face contorted into a mix of amused and annoyed as she read your message, your own mouth twitching as you attempted with all your might to maintain your poker face.    
  
"MAX!" She began, causing your expression to break- a small smile finally forming. "We BOTH know ninja's are overrated...Magic is where it's at now!" She stated proudly, puffing out her chest to show off her Magi t-shirt. You had never watched the show, but you kept promising her you would.  
  
  
"Anyway, why are you so late? I was beginning to think I would be running this place all by myself today...would have made me wanna KMS." She said with almost a deadpan expression, causing you to let out a snort. Amber was always the best manager, she was hilarious- even saying things like KMS out loud. When you were certain you wouldn't collapse from laughter you erased what you had wrote to write something else, showing it to her with a wide smile.   
  
_"Woke up late. Alarm had horrible **timing.** So I had to **truck** it over here. Almost got arrested a few times I think." _You couldn't help but grin a HUGE dorky grin as her face took on a distressed expression, a loud groan escaping her.   
  
"NO! It's too early for puns! STOP IT!" She yelled as she threw up her arms and turned back to her computer. Your expression softened as you slowly erased your white board, your mind wandering to how truly lucky you were to be working here. Nobody wanted to hire you because of your _condition_...she was the only person who didn't seem to mind. Heck she even made you cue cards for key phrases to use so you wouldn't have to re-write them all the time when talking to customers.  
  
  
You were one of only two workers she had hired, you were unsure why more people hadn't applied. In your opinion this was the best working environment ever- although you based that mostly on the lack of dress code. You let out a happy breathy sigh as you tucked your white board under your arm, placing the marker in your jean pocket as you walked over and leaned on the counter. The first customers of the day usually didn't show up until you were open for about an hour, people don't really rent DVD's too early in the day, so you could usually relax- but not today.  
  
  
"WOWIE! ALPHYS WAS RIGHT! LOOK AT ALL THE MOVIES!!!"  
  
A LOUD voice broke the comfortable silence, causing your head to jolt up and look at where the disturbance had come from. Your eyes widened at the figure you saw entering the store, it was the same skeleton from Sans' lock screen! Holy shit what are the odds! Maybe you could ask him what kind of stuff Sans liked! No NO, he is a customer..you can't just up and ask him questions like that. Your face probably looked hilarious right now, because Amber was snickering at you like a true villain as she nudged you in the ribs.   
  
"You should deal with this one! I know how much you love skeletons!~" She said in a teasing tone that caused you to send a glare her way, your gaze only seeming to make her laugh more. Taking in a deep breath you began to walk towards the insanely tall skeleton, writing down a greeting ahead of time on your white board. The tall skeleton turned his head in your direction, having noticed you approaching as he raised his right arm and began to wave enthusiastically.  
  
"GREETINGS SMALL HUMAN! I  AM THE GREAT PAPYRUS! I WAS WONDERING IF YOU HAD ANY ANIMATED MOVIES?!"  
  
  
You could not help but wince a tad at the skeletons high volume, raising your white board for him to read. His eyes? shifted from you to the board as he leaned over to get a better look.   
  
_"Hello, my name is Max! What is it I can help you with today?"_ You held up your finger to signal to him to wait to respond as you erased the board and wrote something else as fast as you could, knowing the second part of your greeting was useless now- he had already asked for something specific. Based on how he was acting, you were pretty sure he was not asking about anime, but about cartoons. Something about this guy SCREAMED cinnamon ro-...You froze, a sudden realization slamming you like a ton of bricks. Papyrus? That was a font wasn't it?! Then..Sans...COMIC SANS!? Your whole body began to shake as you let out heaves of silent laughs, causing Papyrus to look both confused and concerned. Were ALL skeletons names fonts!?  
  
  
"ARE YOU OK SILENT HUMAN?! DO YOU NEED ASSISTANCE!?" His voice boomed, filled with what you could only pin as concern, causing you to shake your head and add one more line to your board before showing it to him.   
  
_"Welcome to Chromatic DVD's, Papyrus! We do have many animated films, I think you would like Disney the most, I will show you where they are. Would you mind using your indoors voice? You are quite loud. Also, I am fine."_ Papyrus seemed to get even more confused as he read your words, his head tilting to the side.   
  
"BUT THIS _IS_ MY INDOORS VOICE! ALSO WHAT IS A DISNEY?" You almost choked on your own saliva, this skeleton was the cutest thing you have ever interacted with, BUT HE DIDN'T KNOW WHAT DISNEY WAS!? Time to right some wrongs! You motioned for him to follow you as you began to walk towards the family section of the DVD store, somewhat excited about introducing somebody to the magic of Disney.  Getting close to your destination you wrote some more words on your board, turning on your heels and almost shoving it into his face with a bright grin upon arrival.    
  
" _All of these are Disney films! They are all amazing, there is no wrong choice."_ After reading what you had written he looked around at the wide selection and seemed to be overwhelmed, his gloved hands nervously rubbing each other.  
  
"YOU SAY THERE IS NO WRONG CHOICE, BUT THERE ARE SO MANY! DO YOU HAVE ANY SUGGESTIONS?" He asked with a hopeful look on his face, he looked so lost! Awww how could you not help him? With a soft smile you cleared your board and wrote down your favorite Disney movies before lifting it for him to read.   
  
_"I highly suggest The lion king and Zootopia! They are my favorite movies."_ Papyrus beamed at you after reading your board as he reached out and plucked you off the ground, causing you to drop your board in shock.   
  
"DEAREST SILENT HUMAN! THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BEING SO HELPFUL AND PATIENT WITH ME!" He boomed as he brought you into an almost bone crushing -heh- hug, causing the air to escape your lungs. As soon as he set you down you nodded at him with a sincere smile before reaching down to pick up your board. You stood there in silence as you watched him locate the two movies you had suggested, wondering if you should ask him about Sans.  Papyrus seemed like a really nice person, you doubted he would be offended by your questions.  
  
  
Finally making up your mind you began to scribble on your board, walking over to Papyrus and gently tapping on his chest armor. Before he could say anything you shyly raised your board, a light blush creeping onto your face. _"Do you happen to know a skeleton named Sans?"_ Papyrus' eye sockets seemed to widen as he nodded so quickly it almost made YOU dizzy.   
  
"OF COURSE I DO! HE IS MY OLDER BROTHER!" He yelled with a proud tone before gasping and looking at you with a jolt. "YOU MUST BE THE SAME SILENT HUMAN MY BROTHER MENTIONED! DEAR FRIEND! THANK YOU FOR SAVING HIM FROM THAT RUDE HUMAN!" Yet again you found yourself crushed in a hug, but you were slightly more prepared for it this time. The blush on your face had increased a shade, Sans had talked about you? Also...brothers!? That's so perfect! You began to almost frantically write on your board when Papyrus had let go of you, your smile almost drunk levels of giddy.   
  
_"That's perfect! Do you happen to know what he likes most? I wanna surprise him after work!"_ You were very honest, you saw no reason to lie to this walking sugar stick after all. Papyrus looked slightly shocked before he struck a dramatic pose, his scarf somehow flowing as if wind were moving it.  
  
"OF COURSE DEAR HUMAN! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, KNOW ALL OF THE THINGS MY LAZY BROTHER ENJOYS MOST!" He said with so much pride that if it had come from anybody else you would have rolled your eyes, but coming from him it was the cutest fucking thing ever. You nodded in great enthusiasm as you gestured for him to continue, you were ready to take mental notes. "MY BROTHER LOVES KETCHUP! DO NOT ASK ME WHY...I HAVE NEVER BEEN ABLE TO UNDERSTAND IT! HE ALSO LOVES THE STARS! HE TAKES ME TO LOOK AT THEM WHENEVER ITS CLEAR! BUT I DO NOT THINK YOU CAN BRING HIM A STAR..." He stops as his face contorts into what you can call an EXTREME thinking face. "CAN HUMANS GIVE EACH OTHER STARS?" You were positive your smile would be as permanent as Sans' if this kept up, this skeleton was to pure for this world.  
  
You began to write out your response with your giant smile still present, you felt like you were in some kind of fantasy land right now- the world and all of its shit just seemed like myth. _"No, we cannot actually give each other stars, but we can name stars as presents! That's almost just as good!  Thank you so much for helping Papyrus."_ After he finished reading he placed a gloved hand on your shoulder, a wide and soft smile on his skull.   
  
"NO! THANK _YOU_ DEAR HUMAN! YOU MADE MY BROTHERS DAY YESTERDAY, AND I AM SURE YOU WILL MAKE IT YET AGAIN WITH YOUR GIFTS!" You could feel your eyes beginning to water, you weren't used to people thanking you for anything, and this was the SECOND time in a two day period.  
  
  
Taking in a shaky breath you managed to keep the tears at bay as you initiated a hug of your own, wrapping your arms around his middle with a bright smile. He returned it so fast it almost made you cry again, God how you had missed hugs. After a few moments you both let each other go as Papyrus turned to pick up his movies. "I MUST GO NOW HUMAN! BUT I AM GLAD THE POWERS OF FRIENDSHIP HAVE MOVED YOU SO! I WILL BE SURE TO HAVE MY BROTHER EXTEND AN INVITATION TO HAVE FRIENDSHIP SPAGHETTI POST HASTE! NYEH HEH HEH!" He laughed all the way to the counter, leaving you partially stunned. Friendship spaghetti? What even was that? He wanted you to come over? He was gonna talk to SANS about this meeting?! Your cheeks were probably bright red now as you thought about how embarrassing it would be to have Sans find out about your questions, you inwardly prayed you would get to him first.   
  
_-Ketchup and stars huh...-_ You made a mental note of what Papyrus had told you as you watched Amber scan in his DVD's. You didn't have the money to buy Sans a star, but ketchup you could do. Christmas was only a few weeks away, if you saved up maybe you could buy him a telescope or something- why were you making a Christmas list for your buddy of less then two days!?  
  
  
Papyrus waved at you with the energy of a thousand suns as he made his way to the exit, causing you to raise your free arm to wave back almost automatically. As soon as he was gone Amber sprinted to you.   
  
"Oh my God Max! You should have seen your face! YOU WERE SO RED! DO you have a crush on him!?" Her questions made your face go redder if possible as you shook your head in a firm NO and began to write.   
  
_"NO! He's a cinnamon bun! He is to pure for a relationship! I was only blushing cause I was asking him questions about his brother"_   
  
"BROTHER!?" Her suddenly loud voice made you flinch, she looked terrifyingly excited. "Tell me EVERYTHING Max! Don't leave a single thing out!"  
  
  
And that is how you ended up telling your manager about your punny skeleton friend. What had your life turned into? It didn't matter, anything was better then what it _used_ to be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Readers sketch!
> 
> [](http://tinypic.com?ref=90zjoo)  
> 
> 
>    
> Yes I drew it myself XD Hope you all like it.


	4. Just press mute.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Not everything can be like a fairy tale, sooner or later the bad things always catch up to you.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so glad you all are enjoying this story of mine so far! I never imagined this random idea would attract more then a couple of people, you all are amazing! Thank you so much for giving me the confidence to continue this!

_"One can never imagine what it feels like to only be an observer to a tragedy, to be there to see it unfold time and time again...whilst forever being unable to change it. Why can I only see?"_  
  
  
  
\----------  
  
"Oooooh! Sounds like somebody has a crush!" Amber's teasing voice broke the several second silence that followed your explanation.  You didn't need a mirror to know you probably looked like a tomato now as you wrote on your board so fast you were almost certain it was gonna be hard to read.   
  
" _NO! I literally JUST met him yesterday! He's just really nice ok! I just wanna surprise him!"_ Amber wasn't buying what you were selling based on the smirk on her face, in fact you weren't even sure if YOU bought it either.   
  
"Well, I have heard that monsters get really friendly REALLY fast! So who cares if you just met yesterday? I say go for it!" She said with that smirk still there, her right hand patting you on the shoulder several times. You were going to die, your manager was going to kill you with embarrassment.  You scrambled to respond again.   
  
" _Amber please! I heard that to but that's always about friendship right? A RELATIONSHIP this soon is going way to fast! Even for monsters!"_ Her smirk widened as she read your message, alerting you to just how badly you had screwed up.   
  
"You didn't deny wanting to have one with him this tiiiime!~" She said in a singsong tone, causing your blush to deepen.  You started to write down a denial to fix your mistake, but you ended up pausing mid sentence- DID you want a relationship with Sans? How would you even know? You have had relationships before, but none of them ever worked out. They always ended after a single date when you realized you didn't feel _that_ way with them.  
  
  
They had always asked you out first and you always said yes out of guilt, you had never asked a boy out before. You had never fallen in LOVE with anybody before, so how were you supposed to know when it finally happened? Would it be obvious? Would you feel those strange butterflies everybody always talks about in your stomach? Was the fact you were uncertain how to answer Amber a sign? Was it strange you felt this way after only talking to him in person once?   
  
"Hey! HEY MAX!" You were jolted from your thoughts by both Amber's voice and the fact she had apparently been shaking you for a few minutes- a worried look was now on her face. "There you are...you started to space out pretty bad there. I didn't overdo it did I?" She asked in a softer tone then usual, her worry obvious. You smiled as reassuringly as you could as you shook your head, erasing your half finished sentence from before and writing a new one.   
  
" _You didn't do anything wrong Amber, I just spaced out. Being honest, I don't know WHAT I want. I've never been in love before. I don't know how to tell."_ You decided to be honest with her, she had never shown any signs of being untrustworthy so...why not?  
  
Your managers expression changed from worry to a soft look as she let out a small giggle, placing her hand on your shoulder. "Just take it slow you dork! If you don't know how you feel then just spend more time with him! Your heart will tell you what it wants in time, it will be rather obvious if you actually listen." She said with a wink, she sounded like the smartest person in the world to you right now.   
  
" _Thank you Amber, your advice means a lot."_ She let out another laugh as she pulled you in for a hug, shocking you greatly as your arms remained by your sides.   
  
"You're welcome hun, don't ever be afraid to ask me for help! You are my best employee and I treasure your happiness" You let out a breathy laugh as you hugged her back, your eyes filling up with tears for the third time today.  
  
  
When the two of you finally separated you began to write again, a bright smile on your face. " _I'm like, one of only TWO people who work for you Amber. That doesn't count for much."_ You showed her the board with a smirk as she scoffed in mock offense.   
  
"You WOUND me! I have had employee's before you and Eddy ya know!" She said with a wink as she turned her attention back to her computer.   
  
You couldn't help but let your mind wander again, it seems you had more friends then you were aware of. Amber and even your co-worker, Eduardo- you both called him Eddy- had both been nothing but supportive of you since the day you started working here. You had all even been chatting in Facebook messenger on and off during free time. How dense were you? You hoped you would notice things like this from now on.  
  
\-----  
  
  
You were bored. Ever since Papyrus came and left the store things had been very quiet, your chat with Amber having been the only thing of note to happen thus far. Every now and then a customer would come in, but most of them didn't need or want any help finding what they wanted so you and Amber were left to just stand behind the counter in silence. After waving goodbye to another customer a realization had hit you like a truck, just like most of the ones previous had. Even though you would be getting off of work an hour before Sans, there was no guarantee you would even get to him before he left for home. You hadn't factored in the time it would take to shop for his ketchup nor for potential traffic. " _GOD DAMMIT!"_ You mouthed as you face palmed and let out an inaudible groan of annoyance. Why can't you human properly?  
  
  
There was only one way to fix this, and you prayed it would work as you walked over to Amber. You took in a breath as you reached out to poke her in the shoulder, quickly gaining her attention.   
  
"Hm? What is it Max?" She asked as she turned to face you, your face wearing a sheepish smile. Swallowing nervously you wrote on your board slowly before raising it to show her, a small blush forming on your cheeks.   
  
" _I just realized I might not get to Sans in time if I leave at the usual time. Is it okay if I leave a half an hour early today?"_ Amber's face began to stretch with an ever growing grin as she read what you had wrote, a chuckle escaping her at the end.   
  
"Of course Maxxy! I can hold down the fort alone for a measly half hour! Love is far more important anyway! You go please your skelebae!" She said while waggling her eyebrows at you. You let out an airy laugh as you playfully shoved Amber, shaking your head with a large grin on your face.   
  
" _Thanks Amber! Your the best manager ever!"_ Your grin was nearly permanent as you bounced a little in place.   
  
"God Max, you should see yourself right now! You are the cutest thing I have ever seen....It's official...I am shipping you and the sugar skull." She finished with a deadpan expression, causing you to freeze and stare at her with narrowing eyes.  After a few moments of silence you both broke out into laughter- well you broke out into wheezing,. "Ahaha! What?! I can ship you guys if I want! I think it's freakin adorable! You gotta at least send me a picture of him some time! It's crucial information for my fantasies!" By the look on her face you could tell she hadn't meant to say that last part, you only laughed harder at her embarrassed smile.  
  
  
\------  
  
You glanced at the clock for the hundredth time as you rocked impatiently in your chair, **3:20 pm**.  Only ten minutes to go before you could fly to the grocery store like a demon escaping hell. You were growing increasingly anxious as the time passed, had you ever felt this nervous before about getting somebody a gift? It was just ketchup too, wasn't like you were giving him a planet..but holy HELL were you freaking out.   
  
"Wow...you're freaking out to the MAX!" Amber's voice snapped your attention away from the clock as you gave her a look of disbelief. Did she just use your name as a PUN!? Your reaction must have been what she was looking for because she started to laugh like a crazed hyena. "YOUR FACE! AHAHAHA! That's GREAT! No wonder you tell puns all the time! The reactions are worth the death of portions of my soul!" She said with her laughter still peeking out in between words.   
  
You tried to frown at her, but you just couldn't- you were to proud. You clapped in approval with a bright grin, causing her to bow dramatically.   
  
"Thank you thank you! I am here all week!...cause I work here!" She added with a bright smile, making your body shake with laughter again. She had managed to calm your nerves significantly with her antics. You were certain you may have spontaneously combusted without her intervention. Taking a deep breath you brought out your cell phone and began to type.  
  
**XXX-XXX-XXXX 3:24 pm**  
**Flower you today, Sans?**  
  
  
You winced at your pun, it was fucking winter! WHY WOULD YOU SEND A FLOWER PUN!?  
  
  
**Sans 3:25**  
**had my chloro-FILL of rude customers today. Other then that it's been a pretty CHILL day.**  
  
This man was a genius. He not only responded with a flower pun of his own, but he switched it to a winter pun right afterwords. Maybe you should buy TWO bottles of ketchup?  
  
  
**XXX-XXX-XXXX 3:26 pm**  
**Sounds Temperate ;)**  
  
You cringed, did that pun even work? Also DID YOU JUST SEND HIM A FUCKING WINKING SMILEY!? You were mortified, why do you do things!?   
  
"OH OH! Is that him!? Tell him I said hi!" Amber's sudden voice caused you to almost jump out of your chair as you looked up at her with shaky smile.  You were shaking from self disgust, hopefully he didn't think you were creepy now.  
  
**XXX-XXX-XXXX 3:27 pm**  
**My manager says hi.**  
  
You send quickly with shaking hands, trying to beat down your negative thoughts.  
  
  
**Sans 3:28**  
**seems i have _managed_ to become a popular work topic huh?**  
  
You groaned, now he knew you talked about him to your manager. You decided to end this before you embarrassed yourself any further.  
  
  
**XXX-XXX-XXXX 3:29 pm**  
**A customer just walked in, gotta go!**  
  
You felt bad for lying, but you didn't want him to know you were gonna visit him today- you wanted it to be a surprise. You were sad to know that more people had been rude to him, people were so unfair towards monsters. You let out a long breathy sigh before turning to face Amber with a small smile, giving her a nod.   
  
"Time to go huh? Knock him dead Max! I'll be cheering ya on from here!" She said with a dramatic salute and a wink, causing some of your anxiety to melt away yet again. You gave her another nod, this time faster as you placed your board and marker into your backpack and zipped it up. Do or die, time to see if you can make your new friend happy. With another deep breath you began to walk towards the exit of the DVD store, turning slightly to give a goodbye wave to Amber. You had an hour and a half to buy the ketchup and get home during rush hour, you were filled with determination.  
  
  
\----  
  
Luckily for you the local grocery store wasn't that far away, in fact it was even on your way home! You didn't want to take any chances however as you slipped on your backpack and nearly sprinted into the store, making a beeline for the aisle you figured would have ketchup in it. Sure enough you located it in record time as you reached out to grab two 20 oz bottles of Heinz before glancing at a nearby clock. **3:39 pm.** You were making amazing time! You took in another deep breath as you began to speed walk back to the front of the store, your pace slowing slightly as you began to pick up on distant yelling.  
  
"NGAAAH! What do you mean I can't buy these!?" A woman's voice shouted in fury as you sped up your pace once more, noticing that the commotion got louder as you neared the registers.    
  
"I..I'm sorry miss...but my manager specifically stated that we must refuse service to..m..monsters" A males voice responded shakily, causing your eye to twitch. What in the fuck, this whole grocery store refused service to monsters!?   
  
You were finally close enough to see the source of the voices, the woman was a giant! She probably had a good foot and a half on you. Her skin was blue and her hair a brilliant firey red, and while you didn't swing that way you HAD to admit- she was beautiful. The boy behind the counter looked young, you guessed he was eighteen at the oldest, he looked equal parts terrified and apologetic.   
  
"That's bullshit! How the hell are monsters that live nearby supposed to get food then!? You're the only grocery store in this part of town!" She yelled with a growl, her fists clenching. The boy looked like he wanted to crawl into a hole and die, you knew it wasn't his fault- it was the managers.   
  
" I'm sorry...i-..if it were up to me I would sell it to you but..I don't wanna get fired! Please understand!' The boy bowed his head apologetically, causing the woman to scoff.   
  
" Tch...Whatever.." She grumbled as she began to storm off to the exit of the store.  
  
  
You were filled with determination yet again as you ran to the register, the boy just beginning to gather up the woman's items for re shelving. You held your free hand up in a frantic waving gesture, trying to signal him to wait. He seemed to notice as he stared at you with confusion. Coming to a stop you plopped down the two bottles of ketchup and shrugged your backpack off, getting your board and marker out as fast as you could and beginning to write.   
  
_" I'll buy those along with the ketchup!"_ You held the board with one hand and gestured to the woman's groceries with your other, taking a moment to really look at what they were. You saw three boxes of spaghetti, several assorted vegetables and a bottle of hot sauce. You could afford this. You bounced in place impatiently as the boy rung up your items as well as your newly acquired ones, stuttering out the total.   
  
" S-seventeen dollars and eighty six cents please.." You practically threw a twenty at him as you shoved your board back into your backpack along with the bottles of ketchup, quickly bagging the other items yourself as the boy got your change. You nodded a quick thank you to the boy as you grabbed the change, stuffing it into your pocket and sprinting out of the store with the grocery bag in hand- you hoped you weren't to late.  
  
Upon exiting the store you frantically scanned the parking lot for either blue or red, hoping that the woman hadn't driven off yet. You let out a sigh of relief when you saw her red hair in the distance, seemed she had parked decently far away. With a look of pure determination you sprinted with all of your might in her direction, wishing you could yell out to her to wait. She was starting to get into her car- oh no! You ran even faster, your lungs practically screaming bloody murder at you to stop, but you couldn't. She had just started to back out when you reached her car, lightly banging on the passenger side window to get her attention. She slammed the breaks as she turned to look at you, a single golden eye piercing your very soul-she had a fucking eyepatch! That's awesome!.    
  
Your whole body was shaking from exhaustion as you lifted the bag of groceries for her to see, a look of desperation on your face. Her face changed from annoyed curiosity to one of realization as she unbuckled her seat belt to get out of the car, causing you to back peddle a little to make room. As soon as she was out you held the bag out to her, putting on your most friendly smile. Her eye moved from your face to the bag in mild shock before she reached out her hands to take it from you.   
  
"You didn't have to do that punk.." She said in a disbelieving tone as she turned her attention back to you, causing you to shake your head with the smile still there. Her shocked face changed quickly as a wide grin almost split her face in half, her fin like ears seeming to perk up a bit. "What do I owe ya?" She asked as she reached into her back pocket to take out her wallet. You shook your head again as you raised your hands to gesture that it wasn't necessary. "Oh don't be a weenie, if you don't tell me I'll just guess! I rather you have it then that store anyway!" She said with a challenging grin, causing you to "sigh" and relent.  
  
  
You held both your hands up to signal a ten, you didn't want her paying you back the full amount after all. She let out a soft "hmmm" as she sifted threw her wallet and pulled out a ten dollar bill. "Here ya go punk! Thanks for this! It's always cool to meet a human that isn't a royal pain in the ass!" She said with a bright grin as she handed you the money. You smiled brightly at her as you took it, nodding and mouthing " _Your welcome"_.  Not only had she paid you back but she hadn't said anything about your lack of speaking, it was refreshing to have somebody not make assumptions for once.   
  
"Names Undyne by the way! I hope to bump into ya again sometime! You look like you could use some intense training!" She said with a chuckle, she must have noticed how you nearly keeled over from that sprint. Deciding not to be rude you took your backpack out and got out your board, quickly writing a response.   
  
" _Nice to meet you Undyne! My name is Max! I would love to meet again some time!"_ Her eye closed part way in a squint as she read your board, her wide grin only growing as she let out a laugh.  
  
"Fwahahaha! That's the spirit! Till next time then nerd!" She said while giving you an enthusiastic pat on the back, causing some air to escape you at the force. You waved at her with a bright smile as she got into her car and drove off. You had somehow made another exotic friend- acquaintance? Either way, you were certain you would see Undyne again someday soon.  
  
\---  
  
The walk back to your truck was long, mostly because your legs hated your guts now and made you go at a snails pace. You couldn't help but notice that the parking lot was rather empty, it was almost kind of creepy. Seeing your truck getting closer you took your phone from your pocket to check the time, **3:59 pm.** You still had an hour to get home and it would take 45 minutes at longest, and that was if you had shitty traffic all the way back. You mentally thanked Amber again for letting you leave work early, you would never have made it otherwise. Placing your phone back into your pocket you grabbed your keys from the other and began to slide your backpack off, not really paying much attention to your surroundings as you focused on your truck. You didn't even hear the sound of footsteps approaching from your right.  
  
  
Everything happened so fast you barely had any time to process it. You were suddenly pinned to the side of your truck, your keys now on the ground and your head pounding from the impact. You took a moment to collect yourself and look at the person who had pinned you, it was that asshole from the park again...he looked furious.   
  
"Hello again you little shit....thought you could embarrass me like that with no repercussions? Thought you could punch me in the fucking face and go about your life as normal!?" He spat at you, some of his saliva landing on your face as his grip on your shirt collar tightened. "Well karma is a thing that exists you mother fucker...and its time you paid your debt!"   
  
You barely had any time to respond before his free hand connected with your face, just above your left eye. Pain, that was all you could focus on as you were sent flying to the ground- he must have let go as soon as his fist connected. You couldn't hear anything, you couldn't see anything, you could only focus on the pain. Your whole head felt like it was throbbing and the whole world was dark as you struggled to move.   
  
You must have been like that for awhile you guessed as your dark world finally started to return in splotches of color. You were on your back, staring at the sky in a daze, your ears were met with nothing but silence-almost like the world had just pressed mute. After another few moments you tilted your head to take in your surroundings, noticing that the man was gone. He decked you and left. An eye for an eye you supposed as you sat up slowly, pressing a hand to your throbbing skull only to feel something warm. You jerked your hand back in shock only to see blood running down your palm, you were bleeding?! That asshole was wearing all sorts of rings on both hands, they must have scratched you pretty good when he punched you.  
  
  
Inhaling threw clenched teeth you shakily stood up, picking up your car keys and pack along the way and stumbling to the driver side door of your truck.  Opening the door you swung your backpack and threw it to the passengers side, throwing yourself into the drivers seat with a loud PLOP right after. You were shaking like a leaf, you figure it was due to a mix of pain and fear. That asshole could have done a lot worse to you if he had wanted, there was nobody around to stop him after all. After a few moments of reluctance you looked into the rear view mirror to take in the damage. There was blood pouring down the left side of your face from two or three cuts just above your left eye socket, a nasty bruise already beginning to form around them. There was no way you could hide this from Sans. You couldn't help but recall the look on his face when he had scared that asshole away before. You knew that Sans could have hurt him really bad if he had wanted. You involuntarily shivered at the recalled memory of both his face and his snarled words before putting your keys into the ignition and turning them. As your truck revved to life you looked at the clock on your dash. **4:07 pm.** You had been laying on the ground for that long!? You had to hurry if you were gonna make it to Sans in time. Wiping the blood off your face with your jacket sleeve -thank god your jacket was black- you backed out of your parking spot and began the drive back.   
  
You hadn't even noticed that you were crying.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yet another chapter that ended up being a lot longer then intended when it came to what I wanted to cover....oh well I hope you all enjoy it! Smol skele makes a return next chapter! There will be lots of smol skell to make up for the now THREE chapters without him outside of texts XD. I am sorry ahead of time if I don't get chapter 5 out this week, been feeling really sick lately. I will do my best for you all tho!


	5. Speak your mind.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes it's best to be honest, even if you're scared shitless.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SO! I managed to get this out this week after all!...I feel like a champion right now XD. I hope you all enjoy this, I swear I had like 3 mental and emotional breaks while writing this, it got to real for me XP.

_"Why do I even try? I scream and I scream...but nothing but silence greets the scene in front of me. Over and over I watch the same events unfold...why do I care?"_  
  
  
\----------  
  
The drive home had been rather smooth, the traffic being much lighter then it usually is at this time. You had noticed your tears halfway home but made no effort to stop them, by now you were a snotty mess- it was a miracle you didn't get in an accident.   
  
Pulling into your garage you glanced at the dashboard clock- **4:46 pm.** You had 14 minutes to get to the park, but did you still want to go? You looked like death, the bruise around your eye now very dark and VERY noticeable. Sans would see it for sure....but if you just went home everything would be for nothing- you would be letting that asshat win. Taking in a deep breath you wiped your tears away with your clean jacket sleeve before taking a hold of your backpack and exiting your car- you were gonna do this.  
  
As you stepped out of the garage you were met with a cold breeze, causing you to involuntarily shiver and wrap your arms around yourself- it was really fucking cold today.  Turning around you reached up your right arm to grab onto the door, pulling it shut with all your might with a loud **SLAM!** You may have been venting some anger at it.   
  
Deciding not to dwell on it you took off running to the park, you wanted to see Sans- no..you HAD to see Sans. The closer you got to the park the more uneven your breaths became...the harder it got to stop yourself from crying again. When had his smile become your beacon of hope? When had his laugh become your anchor to normalcy?  You only met him one time...and yet everything felt right, it felt SO right that it almost felt like the world you had lived in up till now was a fake. Your heart rate began to speed up along with your pace, what if Sans had gone home early? What if he wasn't there? What if you were gonna be alone when you needed him most? Since when had you needed somebody this much? Why does everything hurt?  
  
\------  
  
You had reached the park after what seemed like both an eternity and a brief time running, your heart felt like it was gonna jump out of your chest. Your gaze traveled along the path and to where Sans' hot dog stand was, your breath hitching in your throat. He was here..he didn't leave yet!   
  
A smile made it's way onto your face as you began to make your way towards him, only to have your legs lock up- your chest tightening. Were you scared? Why were you scared? You wanted to talk to him, you NEEDED to talk to him! Why couldn't you move!? You began to hyperventilate, so many contradicting emotions began to whirl in your mind, you didn't understand what you were feeling. Without even thinking you had started to take slow and shaky steps towards him, unrestrained tears flowing down your face yet again.   
  
You aren't sure how it happened, but Sans was alerted to your presence shortly after, his head jolting up from his relaxed position and turning in your direction. He had lifted his arm to wave to you but he had frozen, his entire body becoming so still you had wondered if time had stopped. You blinked...and he was there.  
  
You let out a silent squeak of surprise as Sans was now directly in front of you, his smile and whole expression frozen tightly- his eye lights dim and almost gone. He reached out a bony hand and placed it on the left side of your face, one of his phalanges softly stroking your bruise, you couldn't help but flinch at the touch.   
  
" **w h a t   h a p p e n e d ?** " The growl was back, that same growl you had heard when he had scared the man away the other day- you couldn't help the shivers that went up your spine.   
  
After a few moments of silence his "smile" had tightened even more- it almost looked like a grimace now- as he let go of your face to fish out some paper for you. You reached out your hand and signaled for him to stop, causing him to glance at you in confusion. Slowly, almost robotically you slid your backpack off of your back and brought it in front of you, unzipping it slowly and taking out your white board. Sans was watching you with such intensity, it felt like everything around you was frozen in time..like one wrong move or misspoken word would end the whole world.  
  
  
Dropping your backpack you then began to write with shaking hands, biting your lip to attempt to stop your rapidly falling tears.   
  
" _I'm fine...it was just that man from yesterday. Decided to pay me back I guess..it's not a big deal"_ You weren't fine. You were never fine when you said you were, but the words were so easy to write- you were used to writing them. You weren't looking at Sans, you didn't need to, you knew he was furious. A loud growl interrupted the tense silence, causing you to look up at Sans at last, a silent gasp escaping you. For just a moment you saw it, his left eye had flashed blue, his entire face had darkened and for just that moment, you were terrified. It was gone as quickly as it appeared, leaving his eye sockets as empty black pits.   
  
" **y o u   a r e   N O T   f i n e...** " He started to mutter something else, it was so quiet you couldn't make out the words as he began to turn and walk away. You knew where he was going, you knew what he wanted to do. Your body moved automatically as you dropped your board and reached out to him, grabbing hold of one of his hands so tightly you would normally have been worried about hurting him. Your sudden action caused him to freeze mid step as you two just stood like that for what felt like eons. The only noise that met your ears being your frantic breathing as your body quaked. He finally looked back at you, his dim eye lights back as he stared at you in silence.  
  
  
" _Don't go....please...don't go...please...please...please"_ You mouthed to him, begging more then you had in so long. You started to sob full on as that one word kept playing on your lips, never to actually reach the outside world. _"Please don't leave me here!"_ You didn't care if he didn't understand you, your plea was so loud in your mind...it felt like your very SOUL was begging him to stay. You hadn't noticed his gaze flicker to your chest, nor had you noticed the look of horrified concern that had overtaken his features.   
  
Before you could "say" anything else you felt yourself wrapped up in a tight embrace- you were being held, Sans was holding you. The flood gates were open, any restraint you had was shattered the very moment your face had connected with his chest as you reached your arms up and held him back just as tightly. You sobbed, you sobbed longer and harder then you had since the day you lost it all. You were certain the only reason you were still standing was because of Sans' firm grip on you. You were not sure how long you had stayed like that, but after awhile of letting out all of your pain you had noticed something- a soft humming. You began to calm down as you focused on the faint noise, it seemed to be coming from Sans' rib cage- was it his magic? It sounded almost like rushing water, it was soothing to listen to.  
  
  
The noise had completely calmed you, your tears having stopped altogether as you shut your eyes and listened for awhile. You hadn't even noticed till now that Sans had been shaking too, causing you to lightly squeeze him in reassurance. After a few more moments you let go of him and took a step back, wiping your face with your sleeve before looking back at Sans. He looked so worried, you could FEEL it radiating off of him- it hurt to look at. You wanted him to smile, not to be miserable like you were. With an idea now alive in your head you leaned down and picked up your white board, writing on it with a small smile before raising it to him. _"What's my favorite drink?"_ He stared at the board in complete confusion, causing your smile to widen slightly.   
  
"dunno pal...w..what's your favorite drink?" His voice broke just a bit as he seemed to clear his throat- how? You shook off the questions that had surfaced as you erased your words and wrote your brilliant response, showing it to him with a hopeful and expectant grin.   
  
_" Fruit **PUNCH**!"_  
  
He had frozen again, re reading what you had written in complete and utter disbelief, his once frozen grin twitching slightly.   
  
"did..you just.." He was speechless- GOOD! You didn't give him the chance to respond further as you wrote more.   
  
_" **EYE** see your taking this information at **FACE** value! I assure you this is not a **BRUISE** , I am being quite serious." _If you didn't know any better you would have thought you had caused him to short circuit, he seemed completely shocked that you were cracking puns about being punched in the face. Then it happened, what you were waiting for- his smile twitched again as he began to laugh.   
  
"b-buddy! pal! are you seriously cracking puns about this!?" He said through his laughter, staring at you like you were the strangest and yet most wonderful thing he had ever witnessed. You nodded quickly, your grin morphing into a bright smile as you listened to what was undoubtedly your favorite sound in the world- his laughter.  
  
  
  
You began to write on your board again, a soft blush beginning to form on your cheeks as you did so. " _I wanted to make you smile."  
  
_ His laughter died down a little as he let out a small almost humorless chuckle. "i'm always smiling pal." His response caused you to shake your head with an almost angry expression as you went to write again, not even thinking it through anymore.   
  
" _That's not true! I wanted to make you smile for REAL! You look much better when your smile is genuine, it makes me happy"_ You were so determined to make him understand you weren't even processing how much information you were giving him. Your eyes widened slightly when you saw his cheeks tint a soft blue, his expression going from shocked to...shy?-was he blushing!?   
  
He buried his face in the fluff of his hood slightly, letting out a more genuine chuckle. "you're pretty observant pal...not everybody can tell the difference.  uh.....thanks" His eye lights darted away from your face during the last part, the blue "blush" on his cheeks deepening slightly. It was only now that you had realized what you had said to him, your own blush darkening to a deep cherry red as you also averted your gaze. Holy shit...you had NO chill.  
  
  
You were so busy staring at a particularly interesting pile of snow that you hadn't even noticed that Sans was looking at that same spot on your chest again, just like the last time you weren't paying attention. You glanced up at him just in time to see his expression soften, as if he had seen something reassuring.    
  
"..shit, kid...m' sorry if i _rattled your bones_ there. _tibia_ nest i was ready to _socket_ to that jerk myself if you hadn't stopped me." You were so relieved as he started to crack puns back at you, he was back to himself- you had prevented something very bad from happening. You began to laugh- well, wheeze- as you felt all of the stress and anxiety just drain from you like a fire hose. Everything was ok again, it was almost like nothing had happened at all. You felt the same warm feeling now that you did when you had first met him yesterday. You weren't sure if this was _love_ or not, but you certainly liked it.  
  
  
Your eyes widened in realization as you finally recalled why you had originally chosen to come here- the ketchup! With a bright grin you signaled to him to wait a moment as you bent down to sift through your backpack, grabbing hold of one of the two bottles of ketchup. You stood up and presented it to him as if it were a fine bottle of wine, so insanely proud of yourself as you watched his eye sockets go perfectly round in surprise. As soon as he had taken it from you you had began to write on your board again, rocking back and forth on your heels from reborn excitement. " _Papyrus had shown up at my workplace today! I asked him what you liked! He said you liked stars and ketchup, I couldn't afford stars so I chose to KETCHUP with you instead!"_ The blue tint was back as he let out a full belly laugh, he looked so genuinely surprised you couldn't help but hop a little in place from joy. YOU caused him to react this way, YOU had made him this happy.   
  
"heh, bro did text me saying he had met up with you earlier...heh..this is a serious _condiment_ kid." He said with a wider grin than you had ever seen on him. You reached back into your bag and dramatically presented the second bottle of ketchup, laughing in pure glee at the joy and energy that overtook his skull.  
  
  
Having placed one of the bottles on his stand he began to unseal and uncap the other, causing you to still and watch him with intense focus. Was he actually gonna drink ketchup? How would he do it? Would he open his mouth? You were going to burn this image into your memory.  You began to lean forward slightly as the bottle got closer to his mouth, as if you would somehow get a better view by doing so.   
  
You don't know what you were expecting. He was drinking it...but his grin was still as static as usual- was it seeping in between his teeth? You watched in stunned silence as he drank almost half the bottle in seconds, his eye lights darting to your face to gauge your reaction. He seemed pleased by what he saw as he let out another laugh.   
  
"you should see your face right now! it's priceless." You hadn't even noticed you were gaping till you had shut your mouth, the blush making its triumphant return  
  
  
You weren't sure what to do now as you shyly shuffled in place. You had broken down in front of him, hugged him and even flirted with him a little. You had already presented your gifts as well, how to human? You shyly kicked at the snow as you dove deep into thought, trying to come up with a plan- but it was Sans who spoke up first.   
  
"so...noticed you always enter the park from that direction-" He paused to point at the path you took here before continuing. "you live that way?" You nodded at his question shyly, your heart speeding up again, why were you freaking out? Stop freaking out.   
  
"heh, perfect. i happen to live that way to, want a walk home?" He offered it casually as if it was the most natural thing in the world. It wasn't, this was HUGE to you, a boy had never offered to walk you home before. You had nodded automatically before you could even think about it, causing you to mentally slap yourself. Sans seemed very pleased by your response as he picked up both bottles of ketchup and walked over to you. "mind if i keep these in your bag for the trip?" He asked as he was already packing them back in your bag. You nodded anyway with a soft smile as you rocked in place again, your whole body felt shaky. He lived in the same direction as you? What if he lived in your apartment complex!?   
  
- _This isn't a fan fiction Maxxy...calm your ass down._ \- you reminded yourself of reality in your mind with a firm nod.   
  
"well, let's get goin' then pal" He said with a soft grin as he stood up and handed your pack to you.  
  
\-------  
  
You both walked back in comfortable silence, both of you having stuffed your hands in your pockets. You couldn't help but constantly steal glances at him, his eye sockets were closed all the way, he seemed super relaxed. You couldn't help the urge that overtook you, you wanted to grab onto him. You reached out your left hand only to stop yourself, cringing and silently cursing at yourself. You don't even know if he's into humans like that, and this was still only your second meeting. You didn't wanna come off like a clingy stalker. You couldn't keep the pout off of your face as you stuffed your hand back into your jacket pocket- this inner war shit was getting old already.   
  
Seeing your apartment coming up on the right you reached out again and poked him softly in the shoulder, causing one of his eyes to open partway to look at you. Having his attention you nodded your head at the upcoming apartment complex, his gaze following yours before his grin almost cracked his skull in half.   
  
"holy shit...you live there?" He asked in a tone filled with equal parts excitement and disbelief as you nodded nervously. "me n' pap just moved in over there-" He started as he pointed at the complex literally across the way from yours, it wasn't the same building but it was the next best thing! "seems we will be seein' each other a lot more from now on" He said in a relaxed tone, sending a wink your way. You couldn't help but blush again as you nodded enthusiastically to him.  
  
  
WAS your life a fan fiction? You were starting to question if this whole thing was real the longer you thought about it, it was all just so perfect. Reaching your door you slid off your backpack, taking out the white board before plopping the bag on the ground and turning to face him.  " _This is me! Thank you for walking me home, Sans! Thank you for everything actually."_ He chuckled as he scratched the back of his skull, he actually seemed a little bashful about it- cute!   
  
"heh..it was _snow_ problem...max." He said your name for the first time, causing your entire face to GLOW red and radiate heat. If you didn't know better you would have thought your heart had exploded, holy shit what even is oxygen? He seemed to have noticed your reaction as he let out another endearing as fuck laugh. "If that's how your gonna react when i say your name i should make it a habit." He said with a wink, causing you to puff out your cheeks as you attempted to send him an annoyed pout- you failed.   
  
"oh before i forget..pap wanted you to come over for uh... _friendship spaghetti_...since we live so close, how bout tomorrow?" He asked with a somewhat hopeful look on his face, how could you say no to that! With a wide grin you wrote a single word, " _YES"_ causing his shoulders and whole posture to relax- you hadn't even noticed he had tensed up. "ok....cool. see ya then?" He shifted a little in place. it looked like he thought you were gonna change your mind- it seems you weren't the only one who overthought things.  
  
  
" _Sounds temperate!"_ You referenced your pun from earlier in the day, hoping to get another laugh out of him- you did.   
  
"ok...well..heh...good night then k- ..max." He had almost slid back into calling you kid, but he had corrected himself.   
  
You appreciated the obvious effort as you pulled him into another hug. He seemed stunned at first but he had relaxed quickly, hugging you back softly with a light chuckle. This felt right, hugging this person, it felt more right then anything ever had. This time you took notice of a few things, that pudge wasn't just for show, Sans had some real substance to him- it didn't feel like your were hugging a skeleton at all. He felt so warm as well, just like his hands had felt on your face and in your own, you could only consider magic as the cause of these things- you liked them very much though.   
  
When you had separated he was blushing again, you loved it. With a soft smile you turned to your backpack and leaned down, sifting one of the ketchup bottles out and tucking it under your arm before writing. " _Good night, Sans. See you **tomato**." _ You had handed him the bottle with your free hand as you showed him the board, earning yourself another laugh. You were a true champion, all those years of torturing people with puns had finally paid off. Waiting for him to stop laughing you took out the second bottle, handing it to him once you were sure he could move again. He had tilted his head, nodding at a nearby tree branch before speaking.   
  
"i see you're really _sticking_ to your puns, i better step up my game." You couldn't help but snort before breaking out into laughter again. Based on the look on his face, you were pretty sure he had made your ugly snort HIS personal goal- shit.  
  
  
\-----  
  
  
Watching Max wave goodbye to him before entering their apartment Sans couldn't help but let out a contented sigh. He had seen it earlier after the hug and again just now, their soul was definitely brighter then before. He had known from the start that they were fragile, lonely...broken even, it had made him feel very protective of them very early on. He couldn't help it, he felt so drawn to them, he wasn't even sure what it was he was feeling. He had been protective over a human before, but this was different somehow. He had no idea if Max was male, female or even gender neutral , not like it really mattered to him. He figured they would tell him themselves when they were ready anyway. He knew almost nothing about them, but he knew one thing for sure- he never wanted to see their soul as dull as it had been when he had tried to leave them ever again. Stealing one more glance at their door he grinned to himself before teleporting to his room, he had a feeling he would sleep through the night this time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright! Fun guessing game for you all, what color do you think Max/Readers soul is? I use this color chart primarily so here you go! Sorry it's so small, saving it and zooming is your friend! I do plan on having her soul be multiple colors *cause adults are complex* but this is to guess her primary color/trait!
> 
>  
> 
> [](http://tinypic.com?ref=2ryjck4)  
> 
> 
>  
> 
> Also I am still open for suggestions and ideas for things you all would like to see happen in the future! We are entering the "fluff station" in the story as of now. So expect nonstop cuteness for awhile!


	6. Talkin' bout bones.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Why were you talking about this? Why were you thinking about this? What even was your life now? A BONE-ified comedy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am glad I managed to get this out XD I have been feeling really ill lately ;w; so a warning ahead of time that I MIGHT not get chapter 7 out this week. MIGHT not...I will still try my best but if Thursday comes and goes without a chapter please to not be shocked ;w;.

_"Enough! I am done with being powerless! I am done with being an observer! Even if it is the last thing I do, I will change this tragedy...I will wake up from this nightmare once and for all. "_  
  
  
\-------  
  
  
**Max to Facebook group "DVDorks" 5:46 pm: Guys...I got invited over to skeleton home tomorrow, what do?**  
  
**BestManager 5:47 pm: REALLY!? He invited you over!? omgomgomgomg**  
  
  
You couldn't help but laugh a little at the nickname you had assigned to Amber, it wasn't the most creative thing but...it was very true. Smiling, you continued to chat.  
  
**Max 5:48 pm: Come on I need advice, I have no experience...humaning? Being humanoid and not..some kind of algae? I have cultivated myself into mold status over the last year or so, I need to be reminded of..things.**  
  
**BestManager 5:49 pm: Ok ok...you're gonna need to wear something cute!..Don't make it obvious you like him! Play it cool.**  
  
**BestManager is typing....**  
  
**FastnFurryous 5:50 pm: Tell him you wanna BONE him!**  
  
You let out a silent groan of mortification when Eddy- your co-worker- had sent a message. You had almost forgotten he was in this chat too.  
  
**Max 5:50 pm: Eddy no. Bad, stahp.**  
  
**BestManager 5:50 pm: omfg...**  
  
**FastnFurryous 5:51 pm: What? It's a legit strat. He's hot right? Tell him he's hot, then have fun times.**  
  
**BestManager 5:52 pm: I will fire you...This isn't a game! Our precious little girl is growing up!**  
  
**Max 5:53 pm: Not a little girl...**  
  
**BestManager 5:55 pm: shhhh Momma Amber knows best! Here's what you gotta do...**  
  
**BestManager is typing...**  
  
 The most unhelpful of chats continued like this for what felt like forever, you only wanted advice. It was fine though, you had missed having silly chats like this with other human beings. Glancing at the clock you couldn't help but sigh, you still had work tomorrow after all.  
  
**Max 8:36 pm: Guys...as mind blown as I am from this chat battle it's getting late for all of us, I think we should call it a night.**  
  
**BestManager 8:37 pm: WTF! It's that late already?...It's official, the internet is cursed to devour time.**  
  
**FastnFurryous 8:38 pm: You better continue this shit in your dreams Max, gotta practice to please the boneman.**  
  
**Max 8:39 pm: WTF EDDY HE'S A SKELETON..I don't think he even has...YA KNOW...just...JUST NO. STOP. I'm going to bed, you're awful.**  
  
  
Without letting anybody respond you cut off your phones wi-fi, tossing it onto your bed as you hid your face in your hands- you didn't need impure thoughts in your skull right now.  How in the hell were you supposed to sleep now!?  
  
You let out a long gust of air in what would have been a groan of pure anguish as you threw yourself onto your bed, hands still covering your now red face. After a few moments had passed you slid your hands down your face and turned onto your side, taking in a deep breath before sitting up and scooting closer to your nightstand. Picking up your alarm clock you set it to wake you at 7:30 am, you weren't going to have another heart attack trying to get to work on time- clearly PTSD flashback noises couldn't be trusted.   
  
You never really believed in pajamas, too much hassle and far too hot, so you always just slept in the nude. Throwing your shirt to the floor and kicking off your jeans you settled under your covers, letting your gaze wander around the room until it finally settled on the calendar. Tomorrow would be the 8th of December, you had a little over two weeks till Christmas...You would get Sans the best gift if it was the last thing you did- You loved the smile he wore when you gave him the ketchup, you wanted to make him wear that smile forever.  
  
  
\------  
  
**Beep beep beep! Beep beep beep! Beep beep beep!**  
  
Letting out a few silent curses you practically punched your alarm to silence it, rolling onto your belly and burying your face in your pillow....wait. You turned over and sat up so fast the whole world seemed to spin for a moment as you took in your room, wandering if you were still asleep or if this was real. You had slept through the night, there was no loud crashing noise to wake you, no nightmares, no bad memories- you actually felt rested for the first time in almost a full year. " _Holy shit..."_ you mouthed to yourself as you really let this sink in, why couldn't you have met Sans sooner? He was apparently the cure for all things shitty. With a bright smile on your face you hopped out of bed and began to get ready for your day, you couldn't wait to finish up work.  
  
  
\-----  
  
Upon reaching work that smile was still glued to your face, it felt just as permanent as Sans' as you almost skipped into the DVD store. It didn't take long for your gaze to fall upon Amber, who was doing her usual early morning anime browsing as you speed walked over to her. Not wanting to scare her like you did yesterday you tapped your foot loudly on the ground, hoping to alert her of your presence. It worked, just not as well as you had hoped- she still jumped a little before turning around to face you.   
  
"Maxxy!" She almost yelled in glee as she pulled you into a tight hug, squeezing the air out of your lungs. "Oh my God we have so much to discuss!" She began as she pulled away from the hug, her expression full of excitement. You returned her enthusiasm with a shy smile as you dug out your board from your pack.  
  
_"I am so nervous. I don't know what I'm doing at all."_ You couldn't help but shuffle in place as she read your board, you weren't lying, you were so nervous that your heart was already pounding out of your chest- and it was barely 9 am.  
  
"Just be yourself Maxxy! He invited you cause he likes you right? That means what you have done so far is more than enough! Don't change a thing about yourself!" She said as she pointed a finger in your face, a stern look on her face despite the still ever present joy in her eyes. "Don't overdress! Be casual!...a CUTE casual! Just bring your awesome self and I swear it will go perfect! No need to worry about anything!" her smile was back on her face as she placed her hands on her hips, she was beaming. Taking in a shaky breath your shy smile became more genuine as you wrote.  
  
_"Thanks Amber. As usual you're the kryptonite to my anxiety"_ You couldn't help but wink at her as she read your board, her eyes rolling as she let out a laugh.  
  
"You're such a dork!"  
  
  
\----  
  
The nerves were back, the closer it got to the end of your shift the more nervous you became. You kept trying to remind yourself of what Amber had said, about just being yourself and not letting it get to you...but it was so hard! You felt like you were going to preform in front of the fucking president of the United States or something!  
  
"Max! You're freaking out, stop freaking out!" Amber's voice broke through your thoughts as you jolted a little before looking at her, a sheepish smile on your face.  
  
" _I'm sorry, I know you said not to worry about it, but this"_ You paused as you wrote, taking in a deep breath. _"this is so important to me, I really REALLY don't wanna mess up."_ Amber's expression softened as she placed a hand on your shoulder, giving it a reassuring squeeze.  
  
"You won't mess it up, I know you won't. Everything you ever do or say is always filled with such...sincerity! You are the most genuine person I have ever met! Whatever it is you do or say tonight, it will be what you truly feel! How can you go wrong with honesty like that?" Dammit, you were tearing up again- stop it. You blinked hard to fight the forming tears as you grinned brightly at her, forever grateful for her words.  
  
  
"Eyyyy ladies!" Eddy's voice broke you and Amber out of your tender moment as you moved your gaze over to him, his right hand raised in a halfassed wave as he walked in.  
  
"Hey Eddy! You're early!" Amber said with her usual friendly tone.  
  
"Course I am! I wanted to see our little girl off to war personally!" He said with an eyebrow waggle, causing you to scream internally. As he got closer you couldn't help but notice his T-shirt- "GOAT to be wild". The screaming intensified.  
  
" _Eddy, that shirt is **Ba-a-a-a-a-ad.** " _You showed him your board with your best deadpan expression, causing him to let out what you could only describe as his _villain_ laugh in response.  
  
"Aw but I thought you LIKED puns?" He responded with a smart ass expression as he walked behind the counter to join you and Amber.  
  
" _I do! But yours are making me wanna **hoof** it!" _You tried your best to maintain your deadpan, but a smirk had made it's way onto your face regardless as Eddy let out another laugh- this time more genuine.  
  
"God we really need to hang out more often...HAVE we ever hung out outside of work?" He put on his best thinking face and you couldn't help but smile sheepishly at him.  
  
" _No, none of us ever have hung out, and I feel pretty bad about it in hindsight. We should change that soon!"_ You meant every word, you did wanna get to know Amber and Eddy a little better- you really needed to stop the whole hermit thing.  
  
  
"Well anyway, I showed up early so you could LEAVE early! I want you to have as much time as possible to make yourself look sexy as fuck!" Eddy said with an exaggerated wink, causing you to playfully scoff.  
  
" _You sure your glasses are the right prescription? Me? Sexy? Not possible"_ He let out an almost offended gasp at your written words, flipping his kind of messy black hair to the side as dramatically as he could.  
  
"Max...Do you WANT me to go on a rant? Cause I swear I will. You may lack certain...assets..." He said as he cleared his throat, not even trying to hide his glances at your chest- or lack there of.  "But you are a very pretty girl! I may not swing on that side of the fence but that doesn't mean I can't see beauty correctly." You couldn't help but blush a little, as much as you wanted to argue with him he looked so serious as he said those words you chose not to, only nodding a thank you to him as you began to pack up your stuff. You must have looked nervous again because the gentle hand of your Manager found its way onto your shoulder again, causing you to glance up at her.  
  
"You got this Max, we both will be cheering you on from here! Everything will be fine...remember..BE YOURSELF and NO ONE else!" She reminded you as she moved her hand from your shoulder to your head, messing up your hair a little.  
  
  
Taking in one more deep breath you nodded at her as you began to make your way to the exit.  
  
"Knock him dead hun!"  
  
"Don't forget to tell him he's hot!"  
  
Your friends voices rung out clearly behind you, causing you to smile- heh...friends. You weren't alone anymore, heck you hadn't been alone for a lot longer than this- it just took you a long time to notice it.  
  
Throwing your backpack onto the passengers seat as usual you sat down and started your engine, a big smile still on your face as you looked at the windows of the DVD store, easily noticing your friends flailing and sending you waves and several thumbs up. If they believed in you this much, you couldn't possibly be as much of a screw up as you thought. Glancing at the dash clock you nodded to yourself, **3:40 pm**. You had plenty of time to get home and get ready before Sans got off work, you were going to a boys house today- you wondered if your mom would have been proud of you.  
  
  
\-----  
  
You wasted absolutely no time as you slammed the garage door closed and sprinted for your apartment, you knew you weren't pressed for time, but you had no idea how long it might take for you to pick out something to wear. You almost tore your apartment door from its hinges as you barreled inside, tossing your car keys into the bowl in the entry way and kicking the door closed behind you.  
  
Making a beeline for your closet you threw the doors open as you began to sift through your, let's be honest, NOT ladylike at all collection of clothing. You got nearly every shirt from the boys department, you always hated girly things after all. This was now biting you in the ass as you frantically searched for something that could be considered even remotely cute. No skirts, no tank tops and no dresses- there was no cuteness to be found in your manly closet. Resigned, you decided to just pick out something that could start a conversation instead, your eyes falling upon the perfect shirt almost instantly. You could not help your slightly manic giggling/wheezing as you took out a black t shirt with a skeletal rib cage printed on the front, Sans and Papyrus might as well learn of your skeleton obsession early. Tossing off your current shirt you wasted no time slipping on your new choice, now making your way over to your bathroom to check your hair.  
  
  
Your hair was decently long, down to about your mid back, you usually had it mostly stuffed in your beany, but as of now it was all out and messy. Taking a deep breath you started to brush through the forest of pain that was your hair as your mind began to swim with hairstyle ideas, you didn't wanna go with anything to fancy- this was supposed to be casual...also..how to fancy? In the end you decided to just put it in a ponytail, leaving your medium length side bangs to hang loosely to frame your face. You still looked like a boy...a PRETTY boy....who happened to get into a fist fight? You had forgotten about the nasty bruise over your left eye socket some how, but it's not like you could do anything to cover it- you owned literally no make up. Seems you would have to answer some questions Papyrus would undoubtedly have for you. Letting out a small sigh you glanced at your favorite jacket, taking note of how its sleeves were still encrusted with dried blood and the remnants of a crying fit. You couldn't possibly wear it till it was cleaned. It was your only jacket...but Sans and Papyrus lived literally across the way, you were fairly certain you wouldn't freeze to death THAT quickly.  
  
Plopping yourself down on your most loved and yet most hated bean bag chair you took out your cellphone. **4:40 pm.** Sans won't be off work for another twenty minutes, God why can't time go fast the one time you wish it would? With a bored expression you flipped on the television, it was already set to the news. You couldn't help the disgusted expression that crawled onto your face as you listened to more depressing news involving anti monster movements of various kinds. People sure loved to pick on things that were different didn't they? Not wanting to see any more you changed the channel to animal planet, hoping the cute creatures would calm the burning fury that now settled in your gut.  As time passed you began to rest your eyes, sinking even further into your bean bag chair just...thinking about everything that had happened the past few days- there was a lot.  
  
  
**Chime!**  
  
You were jolted from your thoughts as your phones text notification rang loudly, causing you to scramble to pick it up and check it.    
  
**Sans 5:02 pm**  
**papyrus insisted that i come get ya instead of just telling ya our apartment number. will be there soon.**  
  
What!? It was already that time? HE WAS COMING TO GET YOU!? You scrambled to stand as you dashed around your apartment, making absolutely sure that everything was in order- that your hair was okay, your backpack was stuffed ect. It had barely been a few moments before you heard it...  
  
**Knock knock.**  
  
Freezing, you turned your head to look at your door, your heart was pounding against your rib cage so hard you were concerned it would crack one of them. Taking out your board and then sliding your backpack on you walked to the door, taking a moment to slide on your favorite pair of boots before opening it with shaking hands.  
  
As soon as the door was open your eyes locked with his almost instantly, you could tell you were probably already blushing- dammit. His expression took on a look of surprise as his eye lights flickered down to your shirt before quickly changing into an amused one.  
  
"heh, didn't think i _ribbed_ off on ya that much" He said with a smug grin, a faint blue dusting his cheekbones- he must like it! YES!  
  
_"I won't tell a **fibula,** I happen to really like skeletons"  _His grin widened as he read your board, his entire body shaking with laughter which only caused your face to split in half with a grin of your own. You loved making this dork laugh, it made you feel things you had never felt before- you wanted to keep feeling it.  
  
  
After a few more chuckles his laughter finally calmed down as he looked back down at you, taking a hand from his pocket and offering it to you with a wink. "shall we?" Your heart was beating even faster, he wanted you to take his hand? Was he flirting with you? Was this platonic? Was this normal for new friends? What did this mean!? Just take his fucking hand holy shit.  
  
Swallowing your anxiety you tucked your board under your right arm as you reached out your left hand to take his, your face heating up.  Lightly squeezing your hand he began to lead you towards his apartment building, his face and posture completely relaxed- the opposite of yours. You couldn't help but run your thumb over his hand, the bone was so smooth and warm, you found you really liked holding his hand-  
  
"pap gave me all sorts of instructions on how to _properly escort_ ya to our place, hope it's not weirdin ya out." You were snapped out of your trance by his words as you jolted your head up to look at him, quickly shaking your head no. "heh...he's pretty cool isn't he?" You nodded with a bright smile on your face, shivering against your will when a cold breeze happened to blow by.  
  
Sans noticed as a look of realization passed over his face. "you look chilled to the _bone_ pal. i forgot that you humans are so sensitive to the cold, it just goes _right through_ me after all" He said with a somewhat tense grin, leading you slightly faster. You couldn't help but flinch slightly when he had called you "pal", your paranoia acting up again. Did he not wanna call you by your name anymore? Despite these worries you still let out an ugly snort at his puns, causing his tense expression to soften.  
  
Shaking your head to dismiss your negative thoughts you mentally punched yourself, stop being so needy! He would say your name sooner or later, it's not like he called you kid again. "well, here we are" His voice snapped you out of your thoughts yet again as you looked up at the door now in front of your face, upon closer inspection the number read **104.** So they were the last apartment on the bottom floor, these complexes weren't very large.  
  
Sans let go of your hand and lightly knocked on the door, barely putting any strength into it at all. The door swung open immediately and before you could register to anything you found yourself wrapped up in bony arms.  
  
"DEAREST QUIET FRIEND! IT IS SO NICE TO SEE YOU AGAIN!" Papyrus' loud voice boomed into your ears and all previous anxiety melted almost instantly as you went to hug him back-making sure you didn't drop your board this time. Both skeleton brothers seemed to be experts at expelling negativity from your mind in their own ways. Papyrus was like a bright ray of sunshine, constantly bathing you in his warmth. While Sans reminded you of the calm of the ocean, big and strong- yet warm and gentle.  Without letting you go he had carried you into the apartment effortlessly, Sans having closed the door behind you with a delighted grin on his face.  
  
When he had finally set you down you couldn't help but beam up at him, finally taking in his attire. He was wearing tan sweatpants with a baggy white shirt, but you couldn't read what was on it thanks to a frilly pink apron he was wearing over it. It looked like it had originally said "kiss the cook", however cook had been crossed out, replaced with a bolded Papyrus. _Kiss the papyrus._ You adored this skeleton.  
  
"FRIEND! PART OF YOUR FACE IS PURPLE! ARE YOU ALRIGHT!?" Papyrus' usually happy tone had taken on the sting of worry as he gazed at your bruise, causing you to smile softly before writing.  
  
" _I'm alright Papyrus. A rude human just decided to share his opinion using his fist. It hurt at the time but it doesn't anymore. promise!"_ it warmed your heart to be worried about like this, you felt so many feelings bubbling up in your chest you thought you might cry again. Papyrus looked placated by your words, causing his worry to melt away to show his usual happiness as he finally noticed your shirt.  
  
"GASP!!!" did he just literally SAY gasp?  "NYEH HEH HEH! YOU ARE ALREADY TRYING TO BE LIKE US!? DEAREST HUMAN! OF COURSE WE WOULD WELCOME YOU AS AN HONORARY SKELETON!"  
  
You were trying SO hard not to die of laughter but it was proving hard as you shakily wrote your response. " _Technically I was already a skeleton, mine just wears a skin suit."_ Papyrus looked like you had spilled either the most amazing or the most horrifying news as his jaw dropped with an audible CLICK.  
  
"WHAT!?"  
  
"wut"  
  
Papyrus and Sans' responses were synced up perfectly as they both stared at you in astonishment, Sans looked like he thought you were joking.  
  
" _Yeah! All humans have skeletons under all this soft stuff! see?"_ You held out your free hand for either Papyrus or Sans to examine, the former taking your hand so quickly you had to blink a few times in surprise. Your board dropped to the ground with a soft clank as Sans had taken your other hand wordlessly, causing your face to heat up again. Here you were, in your new monster friends home..while both of said monsters were feeling up your hands. You wouldn't trade this moment for anything.


	7. All you gotta do is ask.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How on earth were you going to clear this up, you had dug yourself a grave...and had even built your own casket.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The new chapter is FINALLY here! I am so sorry it isn't a double post like I had originally planned, things have been CRAZY around here! I recently started working on an Underfell fangame as a dialogue writer and concept artist, and that has taken a LOT of my time. I wanted to get this out today though, cause of UNDERTALES FIRST ANNIVERSARY! WOOOO! Thank you, ALL of you for being so patient with me! If you are curious about the fangame just check the end chapter notes!

_"I call out to you with a silent voice "Please just move this time!" As usual nothing changes, as usual I watch that splotch of color fade to grey. I refuse to give in, one day I know my voice will finally shatter this deafening silence and cause your color to remain ever bright."_  
  
\------------  
  
"WOWIE! SANS! OUR QUIET FRIEND WAS TELLING THE TRUTH! I CAN FEEL THE BONES!" Papyrus' voice was full of such excitement and joy that you couldn't help but smile. He had taken off his red gloves to feel your hand better, poking and prodding at many different parts with a bright smile. Sans was much the same in terms of his exploration, but his expression was more one of intense focus and wonder, his eye lights focused intently on your hand as if he were studying something as amazing as a new species. You couldn't help the blush that started to creep up on your face as you watched him, your mind going blank as your eyes studied his expression with unwavering interest. Papyrus' sudden voice ended up breaking you out of your trance.  
  
"DEAREST QUIET HUMAN! YOUR FACE IS NOW TURNING RED! DOES THAT HURT?! DID WE HURT YOU!?" He and Sans both let go of your hands after he had spoken, Papyrus looking extremely concerned and Sans looking amused- oh for the love of. Letting out a sigh you reached down and picked up your board to write a response.  
  
_"I am not hurt Paps, when human faces turn red it means they're blushing."_ said blush ended up increasing a shade as you showed them the board, causing Sans' grin to get larger if that was even possible.  
  
"GASP! WE ARE ALREADY SUCH GOOD FRIENDS THAT YOU BLUSHED IN MY PRESENCE AND GAVE ME A NICKNAME!? WOWIE! I KNEW MY FRIEND MAKING SKILLS WERE GREAT BUT..." Your whole body was shaking with laughter again, this skeleton was the most innocent thing you had ever seen. You made a mental promise to obliterate anything or anyone who happened to harm this immaculate cinnamon bun. You didn't even care that you had dropped your board- AGAIN. Maybe you needed to glue it to your hand?  
  
  
"heh, sorry i got a little _handsy_ there bud." Sans' amused voice snapped you out of your moment as you sent him the most scathing look you could manage- which in the end looked more like a playful pout.  
  
"NYEEEH! SANS! DON'T YOU DARE CORRUPT OUR NEW HUMAN FRIEND WITH YOUR HORRID SENSE OF HUMOR!" Papyrus nearly screeched in what seemed to you like the fakest rage ever as he began to stomp his foot on the ground. With a smile so large it hurt your face you leaned down to yet again pick up your board from the floor, happily writing your response to the situation once you had recovered it.  
  
" _It's ok Paps! He just wants to give me a **hands** on experience!" _Your smile had turned almost downright sinister as you showed the board to the brothers, Sans looking absolutely delighted in response whilst Papyrus' stomping only intensified.  
  
"THIS IS AWFUL! YOU BETRAYED ME! I'M GOING TO GO FINISH DINNER AND WHEN IT IS FINISHED YOU TWO BETTER HAVE THIS OUT OF YOUR SYSTEMS!" He scolded the both of you with the most serious face he could muster, but you didn't miss the small twitch at the sides of his mouth. He wasted almost no time as he stomped out of the entryway and into what you guessed was the kitchen, your shoulders shaking a little in muted laughter. When was the last time you had this much fun?  
  
"so uh..."  
  
Sans' voice piped up suddenly, causing you to look up at him with a curious smile- your mood at an all time high. His eye sockets widened only slightly at you before he averted his gaze, slightly hiding his head in the fur of his jacket as he began to rock in place. Why was he so nervous all of a sudden? Why was your heart beating faster? Stop it!  
  
" uh....wow ok...this is awkward for me..." He half muttered as he continued to look everywhere except at you, his nervous rocking continuing. "is it....ugh...is it ok if i-" He was clearly having trouble finding his words as he removed one of his hands from his pockets to make odd sort of grabbing motions with it. Your face began to heat up as your mind went to ALL the wrong places trying to understand what it is he was trying to say. He finally glanced at you not long after, easily noticing your blush as his entire body startled, his face full of embarrassed panic.  
  
"i..i dunno what your thinkin bud but not that!...unless it IS like that for you?...ugh...ok give me a sec..." He took in a deep breath as if trying to collect his thoughts, his eye sockets closing. A few seconds passed, the silence causing your blush to make itself at home on your face for a longer time then you wanted. "is it ok if i explore some more?" He said in a rushed voice that you could swear was an octave higher than his usual tone, causing you to blink in surprise. Was he asking if it was ok for him to...feel up your bones? Was that platonic? Was this normal? NO OF COURSE IT'S NOT NORMAL! But it was ok right? This was Sans, he was just curious..right? Your silence must have made him even more nervous because he cracked his eye sockets open to look at you, his entire posture stiffening.  
  
Collecting yourself you gave him a shy nod which had caused his nervous energy to dissipate a little bit as his shoulders dropped back down, his tensed grin settling back into a more relaxed state. "cool...uh..so you're not weirded out?" He began as he turned to walk down the hall, beckoning you to follow him. You shook your head no as you stared at the floor as if it had a secret code burned into it somewhere, only glancing up just enough to make sure you were still following him. "uh...we can sit here? If that's ok.." his nervous tone made you look up at him fully only to notice he was once again avoiding looking at you, he seemed so nervous about this and it made you feel a lot less bothered. Poor Sans hadn't even said a pun since Papyrus had left for the kitchen, he must really not wanna freak you out. You had to do a better job of reassuring him!  
  
With a deep breath you sat down on the green couch he had led you to, looking around the room you were now in- there was a flat screen TV across from the couch and a painting of...a single bone? on the wall. Your analyzing continued as you looked past the nervous Sans to see a table near the couch, a pot with water sausages inside on top of it as well as a...rock? Did Sans own a pet rock? What a nerd! You couldn't help your wide grin before turning your gaze back to Sans, your smile shrinking as you recalled how scared he was. Swallowing and taking a deep breath you softly patted the spot next to you on the couch, turning yourself to face where he would sit.  
  
Taking your invitation he carefully plops down next to you with his nervous expression never changing as you begin to write on your board with an almost serious look on your face, you hadn't even noticed that he had begun to sweat a little. " _Ok, you can pretty much feel anywhere you like. except here-"_ you gestured to your groin area with one hand, a dead pan expression on your face before writing more. " _and here"_ you then gestured to your chest area, which caused a look of curiosity to cross Sans' face for a moment.  
  
"i understand the first one...but uh...are you ticklish in the second spot?" His question made you sputter slightly as you tried not to absolutely lose your shit. You shook your head with an amused grin as you went to write more, but you were interrupted by the feeling of his hands grabbing your arm. Okay Max, you consented to this, don't freak out, its ok, he is just curious- He began to press into your skin, trying to locate your radius and ulna. You couldn't stop the odd shivers that ran up your spine, your blush deepening. If you had a voice, you were rather certain you would be squeaking right now. HE WAS JUST CURIOUS!  
  
  
"wow...you really are just like us underneath all this huh?" He asked in a soft tone, seemingly mostly to himself- you feel like he didn't even realize he had said it aloud. Your blush went up a few shades as his exploration became more thorough, his phalanges carefully poking and prodding your skin as he went further up your arms.  Your breath hitched in your throat as he skipped past your shoulders, softly placing his hands on your face to feel your jaw bone. He was staring at you so intensely, like a scientist studying a prized specimen of a rare species.   
  
Your whole world stopped, it was almost like you and Sans were the only things in all of existence right now, you couldn't breath. His eye lights shifted from your jaw to your own eyes, causing your own to widen as he gently started to trace your eye sockets, being extra careful as to not hurt you by touching your bruise.  
  
"so soft..." He mutters under his breath, yet again you were certain he didn't know he had said it. You were going to die, you had to do something before you passed out from lack of oxygen. You needed a distraction! SOMETHING! ANYTHING!  
  
With almost a look of panic you tore your eyes from his, throwing your board to the side as you lifted your hands and grabbed hold of his left arm. Your sudden actions caused Sans to retract both of his hands from your face, his own breath hitching as he looked at you in panicked confusion. You glanced up at him shyly as you silently asked for permission to explore him a little as well, you prayed he would understand your intent even without your board as you tugged his sleeve up a little.  
  
"y-yeah sure...go ahead. it's only fair right?" He said with a nervous chuckle, granting you permission as he turned his attention back to his own exploration- or at least he tried to.  
  
With newfound curiosity you rolled his sleeve up as far as you could, getting your first real good look at his arm. He really was just a skeleton under his clothes, you don't know why you were expecting anything different, but at the same time you were amazed. He was a skeleton, but he seemed so much more...sturdy? Together? Than any of the skeletons you had seen prior. Some of his bones seemed fused together in places, making them smooth instead of bumpy to the touch. You hadn't even noticed Sans shudder as you ran your fingers down the length of his Ulna, he was so soft and warm- the opposite of what you had expected. Yes, his bones were firm and hard, but there was a softness to them you couldn't quite explain.  
  
No longer able to contain yourself you turned your attention to his face, moving your hands up to his cheeks and softly squeezing them- they were malleable and gave in slightly to your pressure. No wonder he was able to be so expressive, his skull wasn't entirely solid. You were being as gentle and careful as you could the more you explored, lightly prodding the area above his eye sockets.  
  
  
"u-uh...heh." His voice slightly snapped you out of your intense focus as you moved your gaze to meet his, only just now noticing how close you were to his face, which was now stained a bright blue. Your own face began to heat up to surface of the sun levels as you froze in place. What the hell Maxxy!? Did you forget you were inspecting a LIVING person? Did you know what boundaries were!? Back up! You couldn't move. Come on! You couldn't breath.  
  
"m-max?" His voice was so quiet you almost didn't hear it, he said your name again. Everything went blank, you were certain you were brain dead. You wanted to...you wanted to ki- Your thoughts weren't aloud to finish. You were so distracted that you hadn't even heard the front door to the apartment open, nor had you heard the loud footsteps approaching the living room. If you had only noticed sooner...  
  
  
"HEY PUNKS WHAT'S U-" Undyne's loud voice is what snapped you out of your thoughts, causing you to "scream" and launch away from Sans in a panic. You were so off kilter that you lost your balance and fell off the couch, looking at the new arrival with a bright red and horror filled expression. Undyne herself looked like she had just walked in the most amazing thing she had ever seen, her grin dangerously wide and pointy.  
  
"FUHUHUHU! Did I interrupt something here?" Her tone was dripping with insinuations and teasing. You wanted to die, why did this have to happen. You managed to tear your mortified gaze away from Undyne just long enough to notice that Sans was frozen, his eye lights were gone, leaving nothing but black pits. If you didn't know better you would have thought he was a prop. "Hehehe don't stop on my account lovenerds!" Undynes voice broke you from your trance yet again as you scrambled to pick up your board from the floor, writing faster then you ever knew you could.  
  
" _No! Undyne it's not what you think! We were just exploring each others bodies a bit! FOR SCIENCE"_ Your writing was almost illegible from your panic, and you could tell as soon as you showed it to Undyne, that you had just made things worse...  
  
"For SCIENCE eh?" You could barely make out a strangled noise coming from behind you as Undynes impossibly wide smile got somehow even wider- Jesus Christ jaws himself would be jealous of those teeth. Finally managing to pry your eyes away from Undynes teeth you began to write furiously, standing up and almost speed walking over to her- you almost smacked her with your board.  
  
_"It is NOT what you think! We were just curious about each other! I swear to GOD that nothing is going on"_ It was a miracle Undyne could read your board at all as at this point you had almost fused it with her face, a panicked expression making its home on your own.   
  
"Fuhuhu alright alright!" Undynes voice was shaking with laughter as she raised a webbed hand to slowly lower your board away from her face, her large grin dropping from her face almost instantly as her single golden eye focused on a certain part of your face- oh no. "Hey punk...what happened to your face?" She asked in a seemingly soft tone, but you could hear the hidden anger beneath it as you swallowed nervously and began to write.  
  
  
" _It's no big deal, the guy I punched for Sans apparently didn't like leaving the score uneven"_.  
  
"WHAT!?" you flinched at her loud tone as you looked up at her slowly, her face filled with anger and a protectiveness you thought you would never see directed at you. "That little fucki-"  
  
"UNDYNE! LANGUAGE!!!" Papyrus' voice came booming from the kitchen, causing your body to jolt in surprise- how did he even hear her from there?  
  
"SORRY PAPYRUS!...hmpf...ok punk, at LEAST tell me you fought back?" Undyne narrowed her eye at you as she spoke, causing you to avert your gaze in shame, shaking your head. "Uggh...that's it...we're getting you trained as soon as possible punk, no exceptions...no excuses!" Undynes words had caused you to stop writing almost as soon as you started, causing you to look back at Sans in a silent plea for help- too bad he wasn't there to see it.  
  
You whirled your whole body around to face the now empty couch, glancing around the room in panic- where the hell had that jerk gone!?  
  
"Aaaanyway..." Undynes voice had regained some of it's amused tone, causing you to freeze as you felt her hand on your shoulder. "No need to hide it you weenie...I can tell you like the bag of bones. I promise I will be the ultimate wingman.." She whispered in your ear, causing your eyes to widen as you shook your head no as fast as you could. This only got her to laugh again as she lightly punched you in the back- seems you were doomed. Time to write your last will and testament.  
  
Resigned to your fate you let out a deep sigh as you wrote on your board, turning around to show Undyne with a deadpan expression. " _So what brings you here anyway? I had no idea that there was a **PASTA** bility that you would come over too."   
  
_"I was invited for spaghetti night, I had no idea you would be here either pu-...wait...." She started to scowl as she lowered her head and squinted at your board, as if she was hoping she misread it the first time, she didn't. She began to let out a strangled whine as she lifted a hand to her face. "Not you too...oh God not you too" Her voice was full of distress, you couldn't help the evil smirk that now rested on your face. Before you could continue your mounted assault on Undyne a familiar loud voice pierced through the air.  
  
"DINNER IS READY, FRIENDS! COME AND PARTAKE IN MY EXPERTLY COOKED FRIENDSHIP SPAGHETTI AND REJOICE!" You couldn't help the airy wheezing laughter that left you at his statement as you began to walk towards the kitchen with Undyne, glancing back at the couch a couple of times.  
  
"GOOD YOU HAVE ARRIVED! NOW PLEASE TAKE A SEAT AND-...WHERE IS SANS!?" You could only answer with a shrug as you placed your board and pen on the table, which caused Papyrus' eye sockets to narrow- how will you ever get used to this black magic? "THE LAZYBONES IS PROBABLY TRYING TO SNEAK IN A NAP! DEAREST HUMAN FRIEND, WOULD YOU GO AND FETCH HIM? HIS ROOM IS THE LAST DOOR ON THE RIGHT DOWN THAT HALL!" He pointed down the hallway with his one free hand as he began to run water on the used pan in the sink with the other. You could not help but feel nervous about this as you nodded your head weakly, your body turning and your legs beginning to carry you forward almost automatically.  You were so distracted that you had completely missed the looks that Undyne and Papyrus had shared.  
  
Reaching the end of the hallway you stood in silence in front of the door, your heart was beating so hard and so fast it felt like it was ready to burst from your chest, say "LATER BITCHES" and run for the hills. Placing your left hand over your heart and taking a deep breath you reached out your right hand and knocked softly on the door.........no answer. Your eyes narrowed just slightly in mild concern as you knocked again, this time louder.  
  
This time you heard what sounded like somebody shuffling across carpet, Sans had heard you this time.  The door slowly swung open as Sans looked down at you with an unreadable expression, God this was fucking awkward. Your hands started moving as you attempted to write, only to realize you were empty handed- holy shit you left your board in the kitchen. Your face was full of panic as you began to flail, trying your absolute hardest to try and convey that you had cleared up the situation with Undyne, God if only you knew ASL.  
  
"whoa there pal...calm down." You were not calming down, your face was at oven temperature as you made all sorts of odd hand signals and gestures, if this were a game of charades everybody would hate you. You just didn't want to scare him off like you had so many others.  
  
  
"buddy.....max!" Hearing your name spoken finally got you to freeze, your gaze locking with his. "what's the _blush_ pal? I'm not going anywhere, you haven't _flailed_ at anything in my book yet." He winked at you as he spoke, causing your nerves to fade away as you let out a horrifying snort, which only seemed to make him more pleased. You shot him a sheepish and apologetic look, knowing you must have looked like a complete psycho. He shook his head with his amused grin still there as he closed his bedroom door, his hands being placed in his jacket pockets afterwords as he walked past you towards the kitchen. "welp....let's get ourselves some grub then" You nodded even though he wasn't looking at you as you followed behind him, your paranoid side still couldn't help but wonder if he was really ok...or if he was just pretending for your sake.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those interested in the fangame you can find it here
> 
> http://gamejolt.com/games/undertale-underfell/151411#close
> 
> If you wanna ask me questions or just interact with me about the story or the game here is my tumblr!
> 
>  http://chromaskelefox.tumblr.com/
> 
> Also for those of you who really like AU's in general, please show your support for my friends AU Clocktale!
> 
> http://gamejolt.com/games/clocktale/188789#close
> 
> Also quick poll, would you all be interested in a bonus chapter that details all the events up till now from Sans, Papyrus and Undynes points of view? It would reveal some interesting tidbits that would make subtle things thus far more obvious.
> 
> A. Yes  
> B. No
> 
> Comment your choice!


	8. A different voice (part 1): The LoVe

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things are never what they appear to be at first, sometimes...things can surprise you. Sometimes...it's worth caring.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SO I AM STILL ALIVE! I am sorry I vanished again- been hunting for a house in real life for me and my Mom, it's been very stressful ehehe...Anyway I hope you guys end up liking the re-telling chapters! I plan to have lots of bonus content in here! I will also be going back and editing all my old chapters to have a format like these new chapters, as well as fixing mistakes!

"GET UP YOU LAZYBONES! YOU'RE GOING TO BE LATE FOR WORK!"  
  
No, no no no no not again. He didn't want to open his eye sockets, he didn't want to move. It happened again, the kid reset- they broke their promise. "SANS!? DID YOU HEAR ME!? THE HUMANS WILL STARVE WITHOUT YOUR...HOT ANIMALS?..NYEH YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN BROTHER! DO NOT MAKE ME COME IN, IT IS QUITE UNPLEASANT IN THERE!" He let out a breath of air he wasn't even aware he was holding captive, the kid hadn't reset after all. Heh, these bouts of stress were really gettin' to him, chilling him to the _bone._  
  
"i heard ya bro, gettin' up"  
  
Papyrus responded with a cheerful NYEH as his thundering footsteps could be heard getting farther and farther away from his door. Thank Asgore for his brother, he had no idea what he would do without him- well...he did have an idea, best not to go there tho. Sitting up he glanced at his alarm clock, not that he ever needed it- but Papyrus insisted. **4:36 am.** Why did he accept such an early time slot again? Oh yeah, that's right...for the high probabilities of naps.  
  
His bones creaked as he forced himself out of the haven and prison of his bed, odd how it could be both those things at once. With a heavy sigh he sluggishly made his way across his room, kicking away any socks or trash balls that happened to be in his path- he knew it was a mess, but why should he clean it up? It might not even matter in the end.  
  
Shrugging on his jacket he stole a glance at the calendar on the wall, the 6th of December..they had been on the surface for almost 8 months now- the longest yet. He didn't dare allow himself to hope however, it would hurt less in the end that way. With one last heave he managed to force his body forward and out of the darkness of his room, closing the door behind him with a soft click. If it were up to him, he probably wouldn't ever leave his room- but he had more to worry about than just his own feelings.  
  
"mornin bro" He waved lazily as he entered the kitchen, his younger brother turning halfway to give him a bright smile- how could he ever risk losing that smile?  
  
"I PREPARED YOU SOME MORNING SPAGHETTI! I EVEN POURED THAT INFERNAL STUFF YOU ALWAYS DRINK ONTO IT! I MAY NOT AGREE WITH YOUR EATING HABITS BUT..." Papyrus paused, causing Sans to look over at him in worry.  
  
  
"I WORRY BROTHER..."  
  
oh...  
  
"YOU MAY NOT THINK I NOTICE BUT I DO! YOU HAVE BEEN GETTING INCREASINGLY SLUGGISH AND YOUR AWFUL SENSE OF HUMOR HAS ONLY GOTTEN WORSE! I JUST...I WANT YOU TO BE HAPPY." Papyrus' smile shrunk as he spoke, a sad look appearing on his features for just a moment before a soft and loving one replaced it. He had no idea what to say in response to all that, had he really failed at hidin it that badly?  
  
Papyrus had placed a Tupperware container filled with ketchup drowned spaghetti on the table in front of him before placing a gloved hand on his shoulder, a bright smile once again home on his face. "NEVER FORGET THAT I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, LOVE YOU VERY DEARLY! I WILL ALWAYS BE HERE FOR YOU SANS!" Yet again without his permission dark images flashed in his mind, a knife, a bright orange hallway...a pile of dust. Part of him wanted to say that Papyrus WASN'T always there, but that would be unfair of him, Pap had no idea about the resets anyway.  
  
"thank you bro, you really are the coolest." He said with what he hoped was a convincing smile, his younger brother staring at him for a moment too long as sweat began to form on the back of his skull.  
  
"I AM GLAD YOU AGREE! ONLY THE GREATEST AND COOLEST OF BROTHERS INDEED! NYEH HEH! NOW OFF YOU GO!" Papyrus had shoved the container into his hands and began to shove him lightly towards the exit.  
  
"but bro...I love ya too much to go!" He said with a lazy grin, his eye sockets closing as he leaned almost all his weight back onto his baby bro's hands.  
  
"NYEEEH SANS! I LOVE YOU TOO BUT YOU SIMPLY **MUST** FIND IT IN YOUR HEART TO LEAVE ME BEHIND FOR A FEW HOURS!" He couldn't help the chuckle that shook his rib cage as he cracked open an eye socket to look back at Pap.  
  
"but bro.." Papyrus had halted his motions altogether, a look of annoyance quickly forming.  
  
"DON'T"  
  
"i don't have a heart" He finished with a wide grin, earning a loud screech from his victim.  
  
"NYEEEH! HAVE A NICE DAY SANS!" Papyrus screeched as he shoved him out the door with all of his strength and then quickly slamming it shot with a loud WHAM.  
  
He wouldn't trade these moments for anything in the whole world.  
  
His genuine smile faded as he let out a long sigh, his usual fake grin making its home on his face as he shifted his gaze to the grey skies and the gently falling snow. It was quiet today..maybe he would have a _chill_ day at work. Heh.  
  
\-----  
  
So much for that thought. Things had started peaceful enough, but apparently nothing good ever lasts up here. _Why the hell do humans have to make things so unnecessarily difficult?_ \- He thought to himself bitterly as he completely tuned out the angry customer in front of him.  
  
He was forced to pay attention however when the angry man had slammed his hands down on his counter. "WILL YOU JUST GIVE ME MY FUCKIN' FOOD!?" Sans' fake grin stretched a little as he stared straight through the man in front of him, a LV of 6 huh? No doubt this asshole had killed at least a few monsters before, hell maybe some humans too.  
  
"sorry **pal** but you're gonna hafta pay first...that'll be 3.99" He spoke in an emotionless tone, he was trying his hardest not to egg this asshole on any further- however badly he wanted to. He made a promise to the kid, he promised he wouldn't ever fight any humans unless it was for self defense. A sick part of him hoped this would escalate far enough for "self defense" to be necessary.  
  
"I SHOULDN'T HAVE TO PAY YOU _SHIT_! You're nothing but a fucking beast! Give me my God damned hot dog ya freak!" The lights in his eye sockets went out as his grin stretched even further, his magic just itching to be unleashed. He was just about to respond when he suddenly felt another SOUL nearby, causing his gaze to snap in that direction, his eye lights slowly reigniting.  
  
Standing there with a face akin to a deer in the headlights was another human, he couldn't discern their gender at a glance. They looked intimidated by him- good. He couldn't help the confusion that bubbled up from inside his SOUL as the humans expression twisted from fear to a more angry and determined one as they faced his current assailant.  
  
"I SAID GIVE ME THE FUCKING HOT DOG! You have no use for my money ya filthy fuckin-" The human tapped the jackass on his shoulder, causing him to furiously whip around to face them. Sans' whole body tensed up, he was ready to jump in as soon as this undoubtedly escalated further, he hadn't expected to be protecting anybody today. The strange humans mouth moved as if to speak, but no sound exited, causing Sans' confusion to increase- they looked almost offended at themselves for it even.   
  
"EH!? What was that? If you fuckin whisper I can't hear you...just beat it kid." The man was turning to yell at him again but his eye lights were focused on the newcomer. Their face was twisted in rage as they reared back their fist and launched a punch at the man at full force, knocking him onto his ass. Sans couldn't help the bewildered look that appeared on his face at the scene in front of him, had this stranger really just decked somebody for him? The human looked just as shocked as he did at their actions, a small gasp escaping them as they looked at their hand in shock. Had they moved without even thinking about it?  
  
  
"YOU LITTLE FUCKER!" The angry man roared as he stood back up and lunged at the human, who had raised their hands instinctively in fear, their eyes slamming shut.  Before he even realized it, he had his hand on the mans arm in a death grip, his entire body almost sparking with his magic.  
  
"heh...I wouldn't do that if I were you, **pal**. let me be  _frank_ with you...buddy.....if you keep acting this way... **Y O U 'R E   G O I N G  T O  H A V E  A  B A D  T I M E** " He couldn't help the growl that accompanied his words, he was far angrier then he was prior- tho he didn't fully understand why. It did the trick however as the man began to quiver, his eyes wide in fear.  
  
"C-....c- calm down now man! I...I didn't mean to cause any problems! HERE! J...JUST TAKE IT!" He shouted out before throwing far more then a single hotdogs worth of cash at his face and running off. Sans had to try his best not to chuckle in response, he couldn't help but feel pleased at the outcome.  
  
  
He felt the kids eyes on him as he moved his gaze to them, he was honestly shocked that they were still here- his confusion at their actions still filling his mind. He let out a sigh as he began to take steps towards them, he had no idea what to make of them- best to start off with the usual. "heya, kid....thanks for trying to stop that guy. was pretty _cool_ of you." He averted his gaze to a nearby pile of snow for emphasis, hoping that this kid at least had a _Sans_ of humor heh. He moved his gaze back to them just in time to notice their mouth moving again, but just like last time- no sound exited. They looked even more frustrated than the last time this happened, what was their deal? Were they messin with him?  
  
"it's rude to ignore somebody, kid" He couldn't keep the irritation out of his tone as he spoke with narrowed eye sockets, watching as their expression took on panic as they began to shake their head furiously. He moved his gaze to their SOUL, his expression darkening at what he sees.  
  
  
LV 2  
  
HP 5/5  
  
  
This human had killed before too, but only once- was it in self defense? Was it an accident? Or... "what...did you want a turn at the big bad monster?" His tone had an edge to it as he felt his posture and grin tighten, was he going to have to fight anyway? Were humans so sick and twisted that they would beat each other up just cause they wanted exclusive rights to certain victims? His dark gaze and stiff posture eased slightly as he watched them basically have a panic attack. They were shaking their head and constantly making exaggerated motions to their throat. Wait.   
  
"kid, sorry if i'm readin' the signs wrong but...can you not talk?" He must have hit the nail on the head because their erratic movements finally ceased as a large smile replaced the panic on their face, their head nodding up and down so fast that if he didn't know better he would think it would fly right off. He couldn't help but chuckle in amusement at their reaction, relief that he may have met a decent human filling his SOUL despite his darker side still thinking otherwise.  
  
  
"sorry to  _voice_ my concerns bud, but i honestly thought you had a  _bone_ to pick with me" He barely noticed that his static grin had been replaced with an authentic upgrade as he watched this strange human "laugh" at his jokes, their whole body shaking from it- anybody who could appreciate bad jokes was ok in his book.  
  
Feeling more comfortable than he would like to admit he took another step forward and reached out his hand to them in introduction, smiling just a bit more when they took it with no hesitation, "names sans, sans the skeleton" He spoke as he closed an eye socket in his trademark wink, only to open it again in realization as he watched them attempt to introduce themselves and failing miserably. "ah that's right, hang on-" He let go of their warm hand as he started to search the pockets of his jacket for something for them to write on, managing to find a pen and a less than perfect scrap of paper. He handed the items to them with a slightly bashful expression, he wished he had something better on hand.  
  
  
He stuffed his hands into his pockets as he began to rock back and forth, watching as they scribbled something onto the paper. He found himself feeling...impatient? He forced himself to stop rocking when he noticed the satisfied expression on their face as they presented him with the paper. He took it carefully, lifting it up towards his face as he shifted his gaze down to read it.  
  
" _Hi Sans! It is nice to meet you! My name is Max, Max the human! You can call me Maxxy if you want"_ Max huh? That failed spectacularly at answering his silent question about their gender, as the name could be used for both. However his disappointment was easily buried by the opportunity to unleash more jokes, his amusement showing long before he spoke.  
  
"well ...max, was _ice_ to meet you too." He was rather sure he was wearing THAT look, the one that always made his brother scream in frustration- a look that had been thusly labeled " _insufferable puns: the beginning"_ by both his bro and Undyne in a collaborative effort.  He enjoyed watching the humans expressions shift from playful annoyance to one of longing, he could tell that they wanted to battle him on this, and part of him wished they could. His grin dropped slightly as he watched them lose focus, their gaze moving to assess his height and then down to his slippers, a look of amused curiosity appearing in their eyes.  
  
Now that they weren't staring at his face he couldn't help the feeling of concern and protectiveness that started to bubble up in his SOUL now that he had time to think about their low HP.  This human was surely older than Frisk, and they even had a LV of 2, and yet..their HoPe was only 5. Something horrible must have happened to them in the past, something so fucked up that it permanently left a mark on their SOUL to such an extent that even the raised stats from higher LV still left them low. His thoughts wandered briefly to his own low HoPe, causing him to cringe slightly- he was grateful they didn't seem to notice as he recovered his casual expression before he shifted a bit to hand them the paper back. He was trying his best to not acknowledge the twinge of guilt he felt for suspecting the worst right out the gate.  
  
  
It took everything he had to not start rocking in place again as he searched their expression for hints as to what they were writing next. He wasn't used to this anymore- interacting with strangers that is- it had been months since his last positive human interaction, he was almost convinced he wouldn't get another. Something about this one felt so different from the rest, he couldn't put his finger on exactly what that was, but his SOUL thrummed in a way he wasn't used to around them. He hadn't missed the determined look that formed on their face as they wrote, nor the hesitation when they went to give it back to him, a blush on their cheeks.  
  
  
Not allowing them to overthink it he snatched the paper from them, his brow bone arching slightly in an unspoken question as he moved his gaze to the paper. _"I am kind of in a_ **flurry** , s _o I have to get going. But if you don't mind talking to me again, **Sans** the voice, can I have your number maybe?_ " Oh my stars, did they? He re-read the paper with a widening grin, his face full of disbelief. They did! Holy shit- he couldn't stop himself from breaking out into one of the first genuine bouts of laughter he'd had in weeks, clutching his "gut" as he tried to collect himself long enough to get his phone.  
  
"hehehe i can already tell we're gonna get along fine, kid." he spoke in a tone full of honest cheer, he could almost FEEL the weight of his prior negativity lift from him as he held out his phone. He tried his best not to react to the fact their face had gone red yet again as they _blushed_ to hand him their own phone, heh. Gazing down at their lock screen he felt his gaze soften, Max was smiling with two other humans he didn't recognize who were both wearing glasses- a female with long blonde hair and blue eyes, and a male with short curly black hair with green highlights. Whoever they were, he was certain they were close friends of theirs, it made his SOUL happy to see them smile like that.  
  
  
Getting back on track he swiped to unlock the phone and add himself as a contact, he was entering his name so fast that he fucked up- "snas". He was too lazy to correct it as he went to hand the phone back to Max, their face looking like they were deep in thought. They noticed rather fast that he was finished as they handed his own phone back to him, mouthing a "thanks"- he nodded in response. " _snow_ problem, kid. i have to get back to work now myself, hope to see ya around" He gave a lazy wave as he turned to trudge his way back to his stand, he didn't wanna say goodbye- but he knew they had somewhere to be.  
  
  
He couldn't stop himself from smiling at them as they walked away, their arm raised in an enthusiastic wave. He had made a new friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't forget to hit me up on my tumblr if you wanna chat with me or ask me any questions!
> 
> http://chromaskelefox.tumblr.com/
> 
> I will be trying to update this more often- but I can't make any promises. If you ever want updates on how long it might take, just hit me up there!


	9. A different voice (part 2): The perspective

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Life is all about perspective...what seems like just a few minutes of nothing to you could be a life changing experience for someone else. Seeing the same events through new eyes can open up a world of possibilities.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wooo I managed to get this out only a week after the last one! I am sorry ahead of time if I don't manage to get the next one out next week- I will be moving in to a new home this weekend...and will be unpacking for awhile after that ;w;. 
> 
> Aaanyway...there are only two left of these recaps owo and I hope to release both of them at the same time! Then we can finally get back on track with the main story, I hope you all are enjoying these though! Papyrus and Undyne are next on our PoV change list =3

Not even three minutes later his phone sounded off, he had received a text. Letting out a small sigh he leaned back in his chair and took out his phone, his eye sockets widening at what he sees.  
  
**Maximum Overhuman 6:37 am**  
**Your jokes are pretty SNASY Sans, but I ain't a kid. I am 24 thank you very much.**  
  
Holy shit, that name...that TEXT...they were 24!?- he almost fell out of his chair.  Alright, if they were gonna play this way, he was game. He couldn't help the confident smirk as he typed his response.  
  
**sans 6:38 am**  
s **keleTONE it down there, you might hurt yourself,** **kid.**  
  
The second monster/human war had begun, and boy was it going to be a long and bloody battle. He was going to love every second of it.  
  
\----  
  
He was awoken from his short nap by the sound of his phone yet again going off, it had only been about 20 minutes since he had sent his reply. Eh, he could always nap later.  
  
**Maximum overhuman 6:57 am**  
**Hey so...how often do you work at the hot dog stand?**  
  
Oh stars, they were making this WAY too easy for him. He knew he didn't have to- screw it, he had to.  
  
**sans 6:58 am**  
**often**  
  
Smart ass mode engaged. He couldn't help but chuckle to himself when it took then longer than usual to respond, he wished he could have seen their reaction.  
  
**Maximum Overhuman 7:00 am**  
**What times do you usually work?**  
  
He was just about to respond when he heard a new voice speak to him. "Hey man, could I get a hot dog? With extra ketchup?" He moved his gaze from his phone and to the human male in front of him, he looked a bit disheveled but for the most part chill. He had messy medium blond hair and green eyes, his clothing was baggy and messy but he seemed comfortable. He moved his feet off of his stand and flashed the new human a grin.  
  
"an excellent choice pal, with good taste like that we may have to _ketchup_ some time in the future." He spoke as he prepared the hot dog, the man sputtering as he let out a loud laugh.  
  
"OH MAN! That was horrible my dude! I may take you up on your offer if there's more jokes in it for me!"  
  
Why were so many nice humans showing up all of a sudden, and where did they come from? He found himself smiling genuinely again as he took the customers outstretched five dollar bill, moving to get change.  
  
"Whoa whoa! It's fine man! Keep the change! It's the least I can do for the free laughs!" What even was today? If every day could have been this way....  
  
"thanks pal, i really am _relishing_ your kindness" He managed to get another laugh out of the man before he took his food and leaned against a nearby tree, causing his eye sockets to widen shock. Why was he staying?  
  
"The names Kevin by the way man! I hope you don't mind me hangin around for a bit, you're far better company than an empty shop skeledude."  Finally recovering from his shock he leaned back in his chair and allowed a casual grin to settle on his face- his legs finding their way back on top of his stand.  
  
"suit yourself pal. i tend ta be pretty _lean_ ient when it comes to loiterers anyway." His grin slightly stretched when he heard Kevin laugh again at his joke, the man almost choking on a bite of his hot dog.  
  
"You're a RIOT skeledude! I wish I could come up with jokes that easily.." Kevin paused as he glanced around him, his gaze landing on a tree across the path, a smile forming on his face. Oh this oughta be good  
  
"Yet no matter how hard I think about it...I'm lucky if I can come up with two or _tree_!" Kevin started laughing at his own joke, slapping his knee with his free hand as his face showed true pride. He couldn't help but laugh alongside him, this was the second human today who had enjoyed his jokes and even tried to return them- this was a feeling he could definitely get used to.  
  
"heh nice one buddy, it's always good ta know humans are willing ta _branch_ out and expand their range of comedy" He spoke with a wink, causing Kevin to actually start choking on his hotdog this time, some coughs and chest pounding followed. "ya alright pal? i know it's easy ta _choke_ up around a comedy legend" more coughing "but i guaran _tree_ if you _stick_ around you'll get over it"  
  
"M..MERCY MAN!" Kevin barely managed to get out through his strange fusion of laughter and coughing, tears starting to form in his eyes from the double assault of pain and trapped laughter. "Forget about magic! You guys are gonna kill us with jokes!...are all monsters as funny as you?...Should I be worried man?" Kevin had mock fear all over his face, but he couldn't help but feel slightly irked at the first half of Kevin's statement...even nice humans like Kevin still had that thought deep down inside, about how monsters COULD be dangerous. That kind of thinking had cost him and Paps their home several times over...this was one joke he would never laugh at.   
  
"nah...." He couldn't even bring himself to give a proper response, he knew that wasn't fair...he knew Kevin meant no harm- this time.  
  
"Yo..man...did I say somethin to upset you? It was the magic comment wasn't it?...Shit uh...look..I don't agree with any of those jerkoffs on the television.." His attention snapped to Kevin in surprise, he hadn't expected him to notice he was upset, nor did he expect the sad look on the human males face. "I think all you monster guys and gals are rad...I...oh man um.." He couldn't help but tilt his head, a brow bone raising in slight question as he watched Kevin's cheeks take on a red hue. "Ok look...my girlfriend..uh...she's a monster even! A deer monster...and uh..she's the nicest girl I have ever met...for real. So like, I am so sorry if I offended you...just know I am NOT ok with any of that junk that gets spread around."  
  
He hadn't expected that...to be fair he hadn't expected the apology either, but the "dating a monster" thing really caught him off guard. He knew some humans had started to do that, but he chalked it up to curiosity and nothing more- and yet...Kevin seemed to actually, TRULY care about his monster girl. He could feel the negativity inside him vanish as swiftly as it had come, his tight grin yet again settling. "jeez pal..it's k. i'm not mad...well...not anymore? i'm kinda used to humans mostly being...jerks? heh so..you kinda caught me off guard. no bones about it" Kevins worried expression scrunched up as he tried not to laugh, resulting in a loud snort.  
  
"Haaaaa...nice. I see you never miss a chance eh skeledude?"  
  
"sans."  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"the names sans buddy, don't go forgettin it any time soon, or you'll have worse than _buns_ to worry about" He spoke with as serious of a tone as he could manage as he slowly lifted a bag of hotdog buns, earning himself yet another chuckle from his new pal.  
  
"That's it man..I hope you're ready to have me loiter around here as a hobby from now on. You got me hooked." He smiled and let out a small chuckle in response, he would be fine with that. "Aaaaanyway...I've been here longer than I intended for today, I gotta get back to my store! You can count on seeing me again tomorrow though Sans!" Kevin threw the wrapper of his hotdog into the nearby trash can before shooting him finger guns, getting another chuckle out of the skeleton.  
  
"i'll make sure to _wrap_ up some more jokes just for you then bud." He raised a hand to lazily wave goodbye to his first guaranteed return customer. Today has been a very good day.  
  
When Kevin could no longer be seen his smile disappeared almost instantly as he felt a lurch in his Soul, he hadn't responded to Max yet! Oh shit. He almost fell out of his chair as he scrambled to get out his phone, phalanges dancing across the key pad faster than he had ever gone before.  
  
**sans 7:12 am**  
**9 ta 5 on weekdays. pm that is. 5 ta noon on weekends.**  
  
  
He had to come up with something else to send, he felt guilty for making them wait so long. He inhaled a deep breath, his bones creaking slightly as he put on his game face- time to put in some effort.  
  
**sans 7:14 am**  
**i think it's _time_ you told me your secret.**  
  
He paused for a moment to let his text sink in before he typed in another and hit send, his eye lights focused on the screen **.**  
  
**sans 7:15 am**  
**you have a hot dog addiction don't you?**  
  
  
Proud of himself he leaned back in his chair yet again, placing his legs and feet back onto the counter as he awaited his victims response.  
  
**Maximum Overhuman 7:16 am**  
**What can I say? I love hot animnals.**  
  
He barked out some laughter again as he tried his hardest not to tear up, this kid was great- boy did he love all the ammo they kept givin him. He couldn't help but let his thoughts wander to everything that had happened the past couple of hours, he had met more nice humans this morning alone than he had in nearly his whole time on the surface. It was a bizarre feeling, getting to actually be himself around humans other than the kiddo- but he wasn't complaining. He certainly would have a lot to tell Paps when he got off work today.  
  
He jolted in place as he escaped his own thoughts- stars...he forgot to respond again. Just cause he wasn't used to communicating this often didn't mean he could keep forgetting his new pal. He hoped they chalked up his spaced out responses to him just serving customers as he typed out his reply.  
  
**sans 7:20 am**  
**what's an animnal? you know something i don't, kid?**  
  
  
A couple minutes went by, no response. He figured the kid was busy as he put his phone away and leaned on the counter of his stand, allowing his eye sockets to drift closed. It really was a quiet day, all he could hear was the wind- it was almost like a soft lullaby. Before he could stop it he found himself drifting off to sleep.  
  
\----  
  
No...no not again....  
  
The golden light of the judgement hall almost felt like it was burning him, this place was true hell to him. Why here...why again? He was finally starting to feel comfortable on the surface, he even made two new friends- why did the kid have to reset NOW!? Why not get it over with before he started to care again?  
  
That knife, oh how he hated it- the way it gleamed in the golden light, the light powder that coated its edges...the reflection of that twisted smile. Stop, just STOP.  
  
Tired...he was tired...maybe he could just rest...just for a moment...even if he died, it wouldn't matter right? It would just reset...  
  
it would just...  
  
reset.  
  
A voice, he heard a voice? It was calling to him..he couldn't understand what it was saying.  
  
Pain.  
  
\----  
  
  
He jolted awake so fast he hit the top of his skull on the sign of his stand, he was breathing heavily. Thank Asgore it was just a dream...but stars was he sick and tired of those dreams. He wondered if they would haunt him till he finally gave in and fell away into a pile of dust.  Taking in a deep and shaky breath he took out his phone to check the time, only to notice the kid had messaged him- over 10 minutes ago. Shit. Taking one more breath to steady himself he swiped to unlock his phone.  
  
**Maximum Overhuman 7:31 am**  
**Not a kid. Going to the store now.**  
  
  
Well, if they were at the store they probably didn't even notice his lack of response- at least he hoped so. Regardless, this was a great opportunity for a pun. His tired grin stretched slightly as he began to type his response.  
  
  
**sans 7:42 am**  
**got something in _store_** **kid?**  
  
  
  
A few minutes passed, no response. He felt a chill crawl up his spine, and he was certain it wasn't just the cold weather. He knew he had a habit of bein paranoid, but...  
  
  
**sans 7:48 am**  
**hey. you ok kid?**  
  
  
Still nothing, did they get in trouble? He couldn't sit still, this was the same foreboding feeling he grew so accustomed to underground, when Papyrus would go to fight the kiddo...  
  
  
**sans 7:50 am**  
t **hrow me a bone here pal.**  
  
  
  
He was out of his chair, he had teleported into town. He had no idea where the kid even was, but he found himself speed walking aimlessly in a randomly chosen direction as he called their phone. They didn't pick up, of course they didn't..they're MUTE...shit. He was starting to really panic, he was actually almost running. He almost automatically skidded to a stop when he heard his phones notification noise finally go off, opening it to check it at record speed. What he saw only made his alarm bells ring louder.  
  
  
**Maximum Overhuman 7:53 am**  
**I'm fine.**  
  
  
No, they were clearly not fine. That was always what NOT fine people would say...he knew that better than anyone. He continued his search, his eye sockets widening when he thought he finally saw them in the distance. They were sitting on a bench alone, he could tell even from here that they had been crying. He felt his SOUL stutter at the sight, he hated it- he had to fix it. Leaning on a nearby corner wall, he began to type one of his oldest and dumbest jokes, but it always made the kiddo smile- so why wouldn't it work here?  
  
.....  
  
It worked, they were smiling again. He let out a sigh of relief as a warm feeling washed over his bones. He typed another patented cheese text, his posture relaxing as they practically ate up all of his worst cheering up methods. He saw their body shaking with what he guessed was laughter, they would be ok. He cut open a shortcut back to his stand with a satisfied huff.  
  
**Maximum Overhuman 8:01 am**  
**Haha that was great! Thank you Sans, I really needed a good laugh.**  
  
He knew they did, but he would never tell THEM that. He couldn't believe he RAN around town looking for a human he barely knew- Papyrus must never know about this or else he may start hiding the human around town in an attempt to make him run.  
  
  
**sans 8:02 am**  
**any time bud. if you ever wanna talk, i'm all ears. well, if i had em.**  
  
\------  
  
All in all, it had been a _very_ good day. Nothing else particularly interesting had happened after his little jog around town, but he would take boredom over bad things any day. He couldn't help but feel genuinely relaxed for once as he unlocked the door to his current home, barely taking even two steps inside before he felt himself be lifted off of the ground and into a _bone crushing_ hug. "heh, heya pap" his eye sockets were closed as his relaxed grin grew a bit, he always enjoyed his brothers up _lifting_ personality.  
  
"WELCOME HOME BROTHER! DID YOU HAVE A GOOD DAY AT WORK?" Papyrus spoke with his usual enthusiasm as he held him out from his body just enough to get a good look at his face, he kept his eye sockets closed.  
  
"yea, i had a great day actually...but even if i didn't..you woulda been able to _lift_ my spirits anyway bro" He found himself on his feet again, Pap had dropped him with a look of utter betrayal on his face.  
  
" SANS! I AM HAPPY TO HEAR YOU HAD A GOOD DAY, BUT SURELY YOU CAN DROP THE PUNS FOR THE TIME BEING!"  
  
His eye sockets were open now as his grin grew an impossible amount- Pap had made an unintentional pun.  
  
"bro...i'm so proud of ya right now" he lifted a hand to wipe away a cyan tear from his eye socket as Pap had finally caught on to what he had done.  
  
"NYOO HOO HOO, IT REALLY IS CONTAGIOUS, I AM DOOMED! HOWEVER, I WILL NOT ALLOW THIS GRAVE NEWS TO DISTRACT ME FROM THE BETTER NEWS! YOU ACTUALLY HAD A GREAT DAY INSTEAD OF AN..."OK" DAY AS YOU USUALLY PUT IT!" Papyrus reached down and picked him up a second time as he almost sprinted to the living room "YOU MUST TELL ME EVERYTHING BROTHER! DO NOT LEAVE OUT ANY DETAILS!"  
  
He found himself placed on the couch only to bounce almost a foot in the air when his brother plopped down next to him, his eye sockets sparkling in anticipation.  
  
"uh...would ya believe me if i said i made human friends today?...two of em?" He narrowed his eye sockets slightly as he searched his brothers expression, which was currently unreadable. He wondered if Pap believed him or not, he was well aware that Pap knew he wasn't always truthful after all. Papyrus' unreadable expression didn't last long however, as he felt his baby brothers hands grab onto his shoulders and begin to shake him with high fervor.  
  
"WOWIE! YOU ACTUALLY MADE NEW FRIENDS!? WITH HUMANS!? THIS IS MOST WONDROUS NEWS! WILL I GET TO MEET THEM!? I MUST PREPARE FRIENDSHIP SPAGHETTI FOR THEM IMMEDIATELY!" Papyrus was bouncing up and down now, his grip on him not loosening one bit as the smaller skeleton was forced to bounce as well.  
  
"heh well...as much as i would love to let ya _hop_ right on that" The bouncing ceased instantly. "i'm not sure when i can get them over? one of em is more of an acquaintance and the other...well they seem real shy, but i did get their number" He was mostly talking aloud to himself now- how WAS he gonna get Max over for a visit? He wasn't any good at this whole "new friends" thing anymore after all.  
  
"HORRIBLE JOKE ASIDE, I AM GLAD TO HEAR YOU HAVE THEIR NUMBER! WE SHOULD JUST CALL THEM ON THE PHONE AND INVITE THEM POST HASTE!"  
  
Papyrus wasted no time as he reached for his jacket pocket to get his phone, only for him to panic and teleport to the other end of the room.  
  
"COME ON BROTHER! WE WILL NOT GET YOU TO THE NEXT STAGES OF FRIENDSHIP UNLESS YOU ARE WILLING TO BE BRAVE!" Papyrus yelled enthusiastically as he got up off the couch and began to speed walk towards him, causing him to back up slowly, his hands raised in a placating gesture.  
  
"n-no pap! we can't call them...uh..they're mute, like the kiddo!" He was sweating slightly, he didn't know why this whole situation was making him so nervous, but it was.  
  
Papyrus stopped his approach and gained a thoughtful look on his face. "LIKE FRISK? ....HMMM..WELL..THEN WE SHOULD TEXT THEM THE INVITE!"  
  
His baby bro resumed his advances, causing him to teleport yet again to the other end of the room, sweat beginning to run down the side of his skull. "we uh...can't do that either! we...um" His eyes darted around the room as he tried to come up with something to say- stars, if only he weren't so _empty headed_ right now...  
  
not the time.  
  
"we aren't ready!" He suddenly shouted, his grin stretching a tad thanks to his nerves, his brother ceasing his approach once more to stare at him with curiosity. "uh...we can't just serve them spaghetti...uh...we gotta have a whole party planned right? impress them and such!" His voice lowered in volume as he spoke, he was so out of his element it was staggering. Why was he trying to stall this so badly?  
  
  
"GASP! YOU ARE RIGHT BROTHER, HOW COULD I HAVE MADE SUCH A MISTAKE!? I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, MUST ENSURE THAT MY BROTHERS FIRST HUMAN FRIEND RECEIVES THE ULTIMATE IN FRIENDSHIP BUILDING SHINDIGS! I WILL BEGIN PLANNING STRAIGHT AWAY!...BUT FIRST.." Papyrus paused, looking at his brother with an almost serious expression, causing him to stare back in mild alarm at the sudden change. "YOU SEEM TO REALLY CARE ABOUT THIS HUMAN, YOU CAME HOME WITH AN ACTUAL SMILE ON YOUR FACE...NOT LIKE YOUR USUAL ONES...DO NOT THINK I CAN'T TELL THE DIFFERENCE" Papyrus silenced him before he could say anything, his arms crossing before he continued to speak. "DID SOMETHING HAPPEN?"  
  
  
He averted his gaze from Pap at that, he hadn't expected his baby bro to read him this easily- he must be more tired than he thought if he couldn't even hide this much. "uh...well...let's just say a...really rude human" he managed to stop himself from using a... more _colorful_ name for the asshole as he let out a deep breath. "caused quite the scene at my stand...tried ta start a fight with me."  
  
"GASP OH NO! ARE YOU ALRIGHT BROTHER?" Papyrus' serious look was replaced with one of worry as he closed the small distance between them, closely inspecting him for injuries.  
  
He couldn't help but chuckle fondly at Paps worry as he raised a hand and placed it on his baby bro's arm comfortingly. "m' ok pap. the human i told ya about showed up before the guy could touch me. they even decked him for me..." He paused as he glanced to the side in deep thought, recollection in his eyes. "i dunno why they did it...but they did. at first...i didn't know what ta think. most humans have been well..less than friendly with us...so i thought, surely this human didn't do it for me right? but they did, and ta top it all off, they actually liked my jokes...even returned a few" His facial features softened at the memory, he decided it was best to leave out the stats he saw- no need to worry Pap over something that might not even be a big deal.  
  
"THIS HUMAN SAVED YOU? WOWIE...I DEFINITELY MUST MAKE THIS FRIENDSHIP PARTY THE GREATEST I CAN MANAGE!...HOWEVER I AM NOT TOO THRILLED TO HEAR ABOUT THEIR BAD TASTE IN JOKES..." Papyrus stared long and hard at him before allowing a bright smile to take over his face, his mind clearly made up. "I WILL ENDURE IT FOR YOU BROTHER! YOUR HAPPINESS IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN MY DISTASTE FOR LOW LEVEL HUMOR!"  
  
He couldn't help the soft smile that made its home on his face as a familiar warmth flowed through his bones. "thanks bro...i promise you won't _regretti_ this decision" He closed his eye sockets as he relished the sharp intake of breath Pap had taken at his joke.  
  
"SANS! YOU ARE PUSHING IT!"  
  
"but bro...you _meme_ so much to m-"  
  
"CEASE! YOU ARE BETTER THAN..THE _MEMES_..."  
  
"aw...m' glad you have such faith in me, but i'll never be as great as you." He cracked open an eye socket to watch his brothers reaction as his hands found their way back into his jacket pockets. These exchanges would never grow old.  
  
"YOU ARE CORRECT AS USUAL! BUT YOU DO YOUR BEST AND I WILL ALWAYS BE PROUD OF YOU!...HOWEVER I WOULD BE MORE PROUD OF YOU IF YOU WOULD JUST EXERCISE EVERY NOW-"  
  
"k pap, gonna take a nap bye." He wasted no time as he teleported to his room, letting out a light laugh at his brothers ensuing screeching.  
  
"SANS! WHY MUST YOU ALWAYS DO THE THING WHEN I AM TRYING TO BETTER YOUR HABITS!?"  
  
Yeah, maybe things were gonna be better than he thought up here.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all enjoy these Papyrus and Sans scenes as much as I do writing them- also...KEVIN! Does anybody want art of Kevin? Yay or nay?
> 
> Also as usual, if you wanna contact me or ask me questions, hit up my tumblr!
> 
> http://chromaskelefox.tumblr.com/


End file.
